Monster
by Biorex
Summary: When he goes to Forks as a way of escaping the memories of the now resolved war with Voldemort, Harry thinks it'll be a simple life. Then Edward-Frikkin-Cullen comes and changes up everything he thought he knew about himself.
1. Monster

**Hey everyone! This is the first actual chaptered story I've decided to post, and I hope you all like it. It's a HP/Twilight crossover, like the description says, so if that's not your thing, don't read it. This is just the prologue, and because it's so short, I waited till I had the next chapter up to post, so you get two at once. All the titles are lines taken from Lady Gaga songs that I thought matched the chapter; sometimes the characters will actually say them, sometimes they'll just be a kind of general description. That being said, I hope you like it, and please read and review!**

**And to cover my bases, I don't own either of these stories.**

* * *

"**Mons****†****er"**

* * *

… I'm a monster.

A freak. Something to run away from, something to destroy.

It wasn't supposed to be this way.

He loves me, but I can't be with him- I'll hurt him, kill him. I won't mean to, of course, but I can't be trusted. Dangerous…

I'm not safe.

I'll never speak to him again. Never see him again. It's the only way. I'll adapt; I'm used to being alone, after all.

… So why, laying here on the ground, alone among the trees, does this hurt so badly?

I'm glad my heart's stopped beating.

That way I don't have to hear it fall apart.

* * *

**I know. Really short. But that's why you get another one :D**


	2. Don't Call My Name

**... And here's the first real chapter. Truth be told, I don't really like writing intros, so this chapter might not be that great, but it'll get better. Promise.**

**I still don't own either of these stories.**

* * *

"_**Don't Call My Name"**_

* * *

"Harry! Harry, wait!"

The enraged wizard stormed down the hall, refusing to acknowledge the voice behind him. This only served to annoy its source further, however.

"_Harry!"_

"_Don't_ call my name!" In a swirl of black robes Harry abruptly spun around, a primal rage seething behind his emerald eyes. "Just… don't. You lost that right a long time ago."

Ginny let out a choked sob as she sought to take in another breath.

"I just wanted to-" Sniffle. "To say I'm sorry. F-for everything."

Fury was quickly being replaced by revulsion as those green eyes rolled in distaste. Harry turned away from the crying girl.

"Find someone who can still give a shit."

Ginny let out another strangled sob, but Harry was already too far away to hear it and too disgusted to care.

* * *

Harry's hands twisted deep in his hair, gripping tightly in his confusion and distress.

"I don't know what to do anymore, Luna… I just know I can't stay here. Not anymore."

The blond girl sitting across from him nodded slightly, knowing more than most just how much truth lay in his words. She bit her lower lip, a phrase that was becoming all too common in her mind springing forth as she did.

_War does not determine who is right - only who is left._

If that was anything to go by, then the tally didn't look good for _either_ side.

The war had ended, alright, but it had come at the loss of nearly everything Harry (and Voldemort) held dear. In the Dark Lord's case, his life; in Harry's, his friends.

"You and Neville are all I have left here in England, Luna. And if I'm ever gonna be ok again, I…" Harry let out a taut breath of frustration. "I need to start over."

Luna's thoughts strayed to Ginny for a moment.

"Far away."

Harry looked up, seemingly surprised at her addition to the conversation. However, after a moment he nodded, his eyes returning to the table.

"Yeah… _far_ away."

He failed to notice as something flared in Luna's distracted eyes.

* * *

Luna gripped the copy of the Daily Prophet she had had hidden in her bag tightly, folding it open so she could more easily see the front.

Harry had said he had to go pack, and since he hadn't offered the full story of what had happened that night and Luna was too much of a friend to ask him to relive it, she was forced to get her information like everyone else- through the Rita-colored glasses of the Daily Prophet.

_**DARK LORD DEFEATED BY BOY WHO LIVED!**_

_At 6:53 yesterday, the Dark Lord was struck down by a killing curse from Harry James Potter. Potter, known for…_

Luna skipped ahead to the part that actually concerned her. She came to a stop as she noticed the names that now drew up a slurry of emotions within her.

_Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, longtime friends of Potter, were murdered in the ensuing battle when, allegedly, their secret keeper, Ginny Weasley, sister of Ronald and one time romantic interest of Potter, gave up their location to a party of Death Eaters after being kidnapped. Neither Potter nor Weasley have been available for comment as of yet._

Luna sighed. Combining the scraps of the screaming "conversation" she had heard between Harry and Ginny with the words from the article, the situation suddenly made much more sense.

Not that that made it any less terrible.

Luna squeezed her eyes closed tightly, pushing away the memories and the pain as she did. There would be time to grieve later. Right now, she had to get Harry out of here.

Her eyes snapping back open, the young woman dug through the papers on the table, finding the map of the United States at the bottom. Harry had looked at it passingly, but hadn't made any real type of decision.

Luna decided it was time she made it for him.

The blonde closed her eyes, letting her intuition take over. In her, it had always been more than just the gut feelings most people experienced- it somehow tied into her magic, growing stronger in its own rite.

Her index finger suddenly felt heavier than usual, pulling it down till it made contact with the paper. It slowly slid forward… left… forward again.

* * *

North. West. North.

Where was he going?

* * *

Memories of Harry- happier, better times with him- unconsciously rose to the front of Luna's mind. She didn't understand why, but it wasn't the first time her intuition had gone on a tangent for her own good.

* * *

A laughing boy, black hair framing a face that stirred up emotions he had long since thought dead. Pale, but beautiful skin and sharp green eyes called out to him longingly.

Whoever this raven was, he needed him here. Now.

Needed him in Forks.

* * *

Something stabbed forward through the memories in Luna's mind, something black that she couldn't quite make out.

Her hand shook slightly, not knowing which way to go.

* * *

Forks.

_Now._

* * *

Amber suddenly flashed across Luna's thoughts, blinding her to all other influences. Just as it did, a pulse rocked down her arm, finally pushing her hand to a point on the map once and for all.

* * *

Harry stepped back into the room, trailing his bag behind him. With all of his school items being left behind and most of his other belongings having been shrunk down, he had little to carry.

His eyes finally landed on Luna, standing in front of the roaring green flames of a Floo portal, that mysterious smile she was so known for painted across her face.

Her voice was soft, but it seemed to radiate off of every surface in the room when she spoke.

"It's time to go, Harry."

* * *

Edward's eyes flashed open and he gasped heavily. His hand slipped free of Alice's, who, after calling his name, had gripped it so hard it would've shattered had he been human. Then the darkness had claimed him…

"Alice…" He panted out her name, feeling an alien exhaustion creep over his body. "Alice, what was that?"

The small vampire leaned backwards against the wall, her vision just now starting to focus back in on the real world. Jasper grasped her hand, feeding her calming emotions in an attempt to help her focus. She smiled at him weakly for a moment before turning back to her brother.

"I- I'm not sure. That wasn't like any vision I've ever had before…" She suddenly glanced up to look in his eyes. "It was like it was _you_ who was seeing it, and I was just standing in the background."

Edward shook his head as his brow furrowed. "I didn't see any future, Alice- It felt like I was _deciding_ one. _Choosing_ that that boy come to Forks, somehow."

She bit her lip as she considered it.

"Maybe you _did _- all I can sense is that he's meant to be here. But I can't tell why…"

Edward sat down on the couch, puzzling over what he had seen when Alice had dragged him into her vision.

* * *

Harry slid down into the chair in his new home. How Luna had pulled all this off in the twenty minutes he had taken to pack, he was sure he'd never know. The confusion was just part of the package that came with being her friend.

Upon re-entering the room, she had told him that not only had she found him a town to move to, she had found a house for him, enrolled him in the local high school, and arranged for his Gringott's funds to be accessible through the nearby muggle bank.

Too flabbergasted to speak, she had led him towards the fireplace, pressed a note with the PIN to his account and the address of the school into one of his hands, and given him a short kiss on the cheek before telling him the address to say for the Floo.

Finally finding his voice, Harry had confronted her.

"Luna, how did you do all this? I was only away for-"

She pressed a finger to his lips, abruptly silencing him before smiling that mysterious smile of hers.

"You'll find things go quite smoothly when the name 'Harry Potter' comes up."

His brow furrowed, but she took a step back without further explanation. A shimmer of gold hanging from her neck caught his eye, and he could've sworn he saw the hourglass shape of a Time-Turner. She smirked when she saw where he was looking before pulling up on the chain just enough to confirm his suspicions.

"And this helped, of course."

He'd smiled at her sadly, knowing he'd miss her and all the antics that went with being around her. Trusting her as he always had, Harry stepped backwards, feeling the warmth of the Floo.

"Goodbye, Luna."

Her smile held, and her eyes seemed to shimmer a bit more than normal when she replied.

"Goodbye, Harry Potter."

A flash of green and an uncomfortable collision with the floor later, and Harry was standing in what was apparently now his home.

A quick exploration of the rooms and he had found himself in his current position- sitting in his living room, trying to understand what he knew he probably never would.

The crumble of paper in his fist made him finally give attention to the note he was still holding. He opened it, and saw in Luna's airy handwriting the words _Forks High School_.

_Oh crap._

Harry leapt from the chair and rushed into the kitchen, where he'd noticed a calendar earlier. In all the recent action of the past few weeks, he'd all but forgotten what day of the week it actually was.

His finger raced across the calendar as he recalled what the date was.

_Eighteenth_…

_Shit._

Today was a Tuesday, which meant tomorrow was a school day.

Harry headed back out into the living room and sank down into his chair with a groan.

"You just _had_ to enroll me in school, didn't you, Luna…"

* * *

**This one's pretty short too, but like I said, I'm not really good with intros. It'll get better (and longer) as of next chapter, which I've just about finished.**

**Thanks for reading! And comment if you like it.**


	3. That Boy Is A Monster

**Wow… I was so surprised when I went to look at my emails this morning and saw I had forty something, all from FanFiction! You guys are awesome! I appreciate every review, fave and alert so much.**

**That aside, here's the next chapter, out a little earlier than I'd thought. The updates won't normally come this fast, but this one was halfway done when I posted the first two, so that helped. This one also has the infamous cafeteria scene- I couldn't resist. I hope you guys like it.**

**I don't own either of these stories.**

* * *

"_**That Boy Is A Monster"**_

* * *

Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat; the plastic chair dug into his back in a way that he could hardly imagine anyone would enjoy. He idly wondered if anyone had every complained to the school about it.

His thoughts suddenly snapped back to the present as someone lightly tapped his shoulder. Realizing it must have been the person in the seat behind him, Harry turned around in his chair.

"Hi! Your name's Harry, right?"

The talkative girl now facing him had said her name before- for a moment Harry almost wished he'd listened to her ramblings.

"Yeah. And yours is…?"

The girl paused for a moment, looking crestfallen at his not remembering her name. Unfazed, Harry used the lull to look her over more closely.

_Talkative, gossipy… top way smaller than necessary… _

_Typical. _**_Obnoxious._**

Shaking off her moment of weakness, the girl leaned forward, pushing everything she had to the forefront of Harry's line of sight with what she must've assumed was a suggestive smile.

"Jessica." She fiddled with her hair idly. "I like your accent… Where're you from?"

It took every ounce of self control in Harry to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the girl.

_Be sure to add "wanton slut" to the list…_

"England." He intoned with disinterest.

Jessica seemed to eat it up, however. "Europe?" She bit her lip lightly, again probably with the intent of being suggestive. "How _exotic."_

_Surprised the dumb whore didn't say _**_erotic…_**

Harry's face remained unaffected by her demeanor.

"If you say so."

"Well just about _anything's_ more exciting than this stupid place." She huffed out a breath of theatrical distaste. "I can't _stand_ it here in Forks." Her face suddenly lit up. "Did you live in London?"

Again came the urge to roll his eyes. "No." Choosing to ignore her goldfish-attention span and go back to their previous topic, he again brought up Forks, even if only to annoy her.

"Personally, I like it here. It's quiet- more close-knit."

The gossip paused again as she realized the conversation was no longer in her hands. Catching back up, she resumed her look of distaste reserved for conversations about the town.

"I _suppose_. But once you've been here a while, the novelty wears off."

Harry's surprise at her actually knowing what the word 'novelty' meant was masked by the sudden ring of the bell.

Lunch time.

The wizard stood quickly and turned, eager to get away from the already tiresome girl, but her voice rose up from behind him.

"Did you wanna have lunch with me and my friends, Harry?"

That disgustingly cheerful voice, sounding so hopeful, was the one thing in this world Harry most wanted to turn down and leave crushed. Unfortunately, he didn't have anyone else with which to sit at lunch that would allow for such a move. He let out a sigh, noting pointedly the look of pity and slight amusement the teacher flashed him at his obvious predicament. Harry looked up at the ceiling plaintively, cursing whoever it was that had prevented him from making other friends so far.

Defeated, he turned around.

"Sure, Joanna."

The girl paused for a moment, flashing another look of surprise at her inability to stand out in Harry's memory.

"My name's _Jessica_."

Harry extended his arm, inviting her to walk past him and lead the way. She did so, even as he smirked. "Right. My mistake."

That he had done it just to make her that much more insecure never even occurred to the talkative girl.

* * *

Harry looked down at the plate of food in front of him with distaste. He wasn't entirely sure he'd have been able to identify it if asked, but even its ambiguous ingredients were more interesting than the conversation going around the table at which he now sat.

Jessica was babbling with some girl nearby, though she constantly looked back to Harry hopefully, wondering each time if he was finally looking at her. She was sorely disappointed with each turn. The others around them incessantly talked about equally unimportant things, seemingly uncaring of anything of real merit or importance.

A few minutes crawled by, with Harry now sitting with his chin resting on his hand, staring out into space. As Jessica made a somehow even more childish remark than her previous one, Harry suddenly found himself wondering if, when exposed to enough immature, gossiping teenage girls, the brain could literally turn into sludge.

The sudden feeling of liquid on his ear made him think for a moment that his suspicions were correct, before he finally dragged himself back to the present again and looked to his left.

The guy sitting on the other side of the girl to his left- Eric? - was now covered in whatever drink Jessica had been holding. She was now glaring at him, fuming, the empty cup still clutched in her hand.

"I am _not!"_

This time Harry didn't resist the need to roll his eyes at her. Many of the other tables were looking over, and he was sure Jessica was drinking up the attention. He smirked wryly as he imagined just what Eric might have called her… so many words fit, after all…

Harry's smile instantly disappeared as he saw Jessica grab her tray and get up from her position across from Eric and sit in the empty chair to his right.

He didn't bother to hide his scowl at her action, but the girl misunderstood it.

"I know… _so_ stupid, isn't he?"

Harry sighed.

"Sure, Julie."

She glanced over at him, but he didn't bother to establish eye contact.

"_Jessica._"

A few moments of silence passed between the two, with Harry continuing to stare out at a point on the other side of the cafeteria, not really seeing what he was looking at, more occupied by his thoughts.

"Are you looking at _them?"_

Harry started to reply without really thinking. "Wha-"

Before he could finish, the sudden flip of sharply blond hair at the table his eyes rested near forced him to actually focus on those sitting at it for the first time.

"… Wow."

The image of the people sitting at the far table truly shocked Harry for the first time in many months- and it was a good kind of shock. Pale, flawless skin, harshly amber eyes, and all of them more beautiful then should have been humanely possible. Had he lived a normal, muggle life, Harry would have doubted his ability to understand just what had gifted them with such otherworldly features.

But Harry had lived anything but a normal life, and as such could tell _exactly_ why they were all that stunning.

These people obviously _weren't_ humans.

"The Cullens." A voice off to the side muttered distastefully.

Harry again pulled himself back into normal conversation, realizing it had been Jessica who had commented on these- 'Cullens' she had said?

"They're… wow."

The girl looked away haughtily. "Yeah." She crossed her arms. "They get that a lot."

Harry noticed with a smirk that Jessica was looking increasingly uncomfortable at this line of conversation. So, naturally, he continued it. He also decided it was time for another stab at the girl's ego.

"That blonde one's really beautiful- what's her name?"

Jessica scrunched her nose in distaste.

"Rosalie. Jasper, the other blond one, is her brother."

Harry could have sworn he saw the slightest of smiles appear on the Rosalie girl's face at both the compliment and Jessica's reaction, though she had yet to look over at them. But the blond guy- Jasper- looked over at her for a split second, his mouth moving almost imperceptibly. The smile instantly disappeared.

Only honed Seeker senses had allowed Harry to even notice the exchange; he was sure no one else in the room would have seen anything out of place.

The others at the table stiffened ever so slightly, shown through the smallest of movements in their seats. All but the short, brown haired one, that is.

_Pale, beautiful, and obviously with exceptional senses… what are these people?_

Intrigued (and hoping for more of a response from these mysterious Cullens), Harry continued to ask questions.

"Who're the others?"

Jessica glared at him for a moment, but answered.

"The big one's Emmett, the other girl is Alice, and the last one's Edward."

The sound of almost pure disgust in the girl's voice interested Harry more than he would have expected, so much so that he felt an undeniable urge to know her _true_ opinion of the Cullens.

Harry's skills in Legilimency were rudimentary, but Jessica was by far an easy target. She practically screamed her thoughts with every facet of her body, anyway. He reached forward with his magic, concentrated hard since he didn't want to have to use his wand or speak the incantation.

The bronze haired boy, Edward, moved minutely when he did, his head turning a tiny bit in his direction. The others soon did the same, Alice again excluded.

Harry inadvertently raised an eyebrow. So they could sense magic? Even this small an example?

_Definitely not human…_

Returning to the task at hand, Harry focused on slipping past the natural barriers surrounding Jessica's mind. It was in no way difficult, and it didn't take much searching to see what he needed.

… _That boy is a monster._

Harry's brow furrowed. Had she meant Edward?

Another thought soon drifted up to follow the first.

_They _**_all_**_ are…_

Harry looked back up and noticed that Edward was looking straight at him. Just as he did, he felt something push past Jessica's simple thoughts and press sharply against his own, as if trying to enter. In his surprise, Harry pulled out of Jessica's mind abruptly, causing the girl to blink in confusion and Edward to look away just as quickly.

Jessica shook her head to clear it as Harry allowed his magic to seep back into its normal dormant state.

True to her attention span, Jessica decided to completely disregard her short-lived headache and bring up a new point, perking up slightly as she did.

"They're all _together_ though. Totally gross, right?"

Harry cocked an eyebrow at her. Apparently she didn't mind discussing the Cullens if she thought it meant she could sway him away from them.

The wizard decided then and there that, if given the chance, he was going to get as close to this mystery family as he possibly could.

Possible futures aside, he decided to reply to her comment.

"How is that _gross?"_

Jessica smiled, sure she would finally end Harry's fascination, before switching to a look of disapproval.

"They're all, like, adopted siblings. Dr. Cullen and his wife adopted them."

Harry looked back to the Cullens. He was almost sure, whatever they were, that they had good enough hearing to pick up their conversation, and they were tensing up again as the chat turned towards their parents.

"All of them?"

Jessica sneered over at the Cullen table. "Yeah, _all_ of them." She turned back to Harry, smiling. "They say their mom, Esme, can't have kids."

Harry stared at her for a few moments in disbelief. Confused, she just continued to smile.

Before he realized just what he was doing, Harry abruptly unloaded on the deluded, gossip hungry girl.

"… That makes you _smile?_ A woman can never have a child of her own and you _smile_?"

Jessica's eyes suddenly widened in shock and fear as she realized her misstep.

"W-What?"

The nearby tables immediately turned to face the newly developing drama, the wizard's raised voice just loud enough to catch their notice. Though not odd for Jessica's table to have its fair share of outbursts, two in one day was irregular even for them. Harry noticed peripherally that he had actually garnered the full attention of the entire Cullen family, but he was too annoyed to notice.

Every ounce of aggravation he felt towards the stupid girl sitting, mortified, in front of him began to spill out. It didn't really occur to Harry that he was making a scene for a family he didn't even know.

"Anyone willing to take in five kids is obviously a caring, selfless woman." He stood up from his chair, stabbing an accusatory finger at Jessica's shocked face. "Something _you'd_ clearly know nothing about."

He scowled down at her. "I know it'll be hard for you, but how about you try doing this amazing thing called _thinking_ before you spout shit about other people? There's more to life that just you, you self-centered, unfeeling _bitch_."

Someone gasped and a few others laughed, but adrenaline raged through Harry's veins, temporarily deadening his senses to the fact that his explosion now had _everyone's_ attention. Somewhere to his left, he saw the unheard of sight of all five Cullens smiling from their table, but he likewise failed to process that, too. Breathing shallowly, he turned from their table, preparing to walk away, but suddenly thought better of it.

Harry turned back around and walked forward slowly, seeing that it terrified the misty-eyed teen that much more; the grin forming on his face was only adding to her fear as well. He gripped the back of her chair and leaned forward, getting that much closer as she tried to lean away, having already turned backwards to face him.

His voice was low, challenging, but the complete silence of the cafeteria allowed all ears to catch his words.

"Oh, and I'd like to tell you to go choke on your judgmental self-righteousness-" He leaned in even closer, easily smelling her sickeningly sweet perfume. "But I'm sure you've already suppressed your gag reflex."

The girl's jaw dropped, leaving her mouth comically open. Harry smirked.

"I'd get used to having your mouth like that. Should help you on your career path."

Harry suddenly pushed on the chair, sliding it towards the table. Jessica was jolted forward, her mouth finally snapping shut when she did.

Still smirking, Harry finally turned away and exited the cafeteria.

* * *

On the other side of the cafeteria, Alice's grin somehow pulled even wider.

"I _like_ him!"

**

* * *

**

So… yeah. Harry doesn't like Jessica much :P I know it might seem a bit extreme, but I figured, when you consider how much he overreacts in some of the books (after he goes all teenage-angsty), this isn't so far-fetched, especially since he's just dealt with a lot of crap lately and she was being obnoxious.

**Plus, it was just really fun to write. **

**Review if you like it.**


	4. Can't Read My

**Hey guys! I just wanted to say thanks again for all the faves, alerts and reviews, they really make me wanna keep writing better and faster! Now that all the crap from my birthday party's over with, I was able to get out this chapter. I hope you like it!**

**I don't own either of these stories.**

* * *

"_**Can't Read My, Can't Read My…"**_

* * *

As soon as they arrived at school, the Cullens realized there was something _different_ that day. None of them could quite place it, not until Edward started to tap into the trove of thoughts milling about the grounds.

A new kid had come to Forks- a kid from England, of all places.

For a moment he wondered if it was the one from Alice's vision, but since she had yet to have another one concerning him it seemed unlikely.

After relaying the news to his family, Edward attempted to shake off the odd feeling of 'difference' surrounding him. It was just a new student after all; hardly something to care much about.

But as he sat down in his first class, prepared to again listen to a subject he'd already learned multiple times, the sensation remained, digging into him like the feeling of forgetting something important. By the end of the class period it had grown so strong that he was literally fidgeting in his chair, garnering a few glances for his out of place behavior.

As soon as the bell rang he was up and out of the room, unable to care if someone was surprised by his speed.

Something was _very_ wrong.

* * *

Edward had yet to catch sight of the famed new kid all day, though he was sure that the core of these odd feelings must center around him- it was the only logical explanation. He was the only new variable in an otherwise very constant town.

"You'll see him soon enough."

He turned, surprised to see Alice walking beside him, her smile almost boundless. Deciding not to bother asking how she knew what he'd been thinking about, he instead responded.

"What did you see? Is he the one from before?"

She laughed lightly. "Not telling!"

Her mind immediately became filled with the lyrics to some song Edward didn't bother to listen to long enough to identify as he pulled back out of her maddening thoughts.

This was rapidly shaping into the most annoying day he'd experienced in quite a while.

* * *

The bell for lunch finally rang, freeing the vampire from another period of boredom and discomfort. He hurried into the cafeteria, wondering if any of his siblings had been plagued with these odd sensations all day. A rush through the lunch line and he was finally sitting beside them, Alice still smiling mysteriously.

Emmett was the first to speak.

"Alright Alice, what's with all the smiles?"

She just grinned even wider.

"You'll see!"

Emmett frowned, but Alice just looked away out the window, still smiling.

Edward cast a quick eye over the lunchroom but saw no one out of place. He decided to finally ask what he had been wanting to all day.

"Do any of the rest of you feel… odd?"

Jasper raised an eyebrow. "How do you mean?"

Edward's brow furrowed as he sought to explain. "Like… something's off. _Different._"

Emmett nodded. "Something does feel different about the school, but I think it's just that new kid."

Edward frowned slightly. "I guess… But we've had new kids before. It never felt quite like this."

Rosalie shrugged. "Who cares? One more human isn't gonna change anything."

A slight sigh escaped Edward's lips. He wanted to believe Rosalie was right for his family's sake, but something about these feelings just wasn't normal. It was going to be much harder for him to ignore them.

* * *

"I am _not!"_

Edward rolled his eyes as he heard the words, a move most of his family repeated. It was always something with that Jessica girl. Choosing to ignore her- everything she did was for attention anyway- they refused to look over at her, instead choosing to continue their conversations.

That is, until, he heard her say something that almost undoubtedly had to do with his family.

"Are you looking at _them_?"

Edward glanced over out of the corner of his eye, just in time to catch sight of what he was sure had to be the new student.

_Holy __**shit**_.

It was him.

A beautiful, flawless face was surrounded by pure black hair, green, uninterested eyes staring forward blankly. Edward felt something in his stomach jump slightly. He was amazing, even more so than he remembered- almost as perfect as his own family, and he wasn't even a vampire.

Edward immediately looked away as he saw those eyes starting to focus. He couldn't let this new mystery know he'd been looking. He quickly looked back over at his family, noticing idly that Rosalie had chosen that moment to flip her hair off her shoulder.

"The Cullens."

Edward glanced over at Alice, noticing that she was still smiling happily. Trusting that this was what she was so excited about, he listened as closely as possible to the conversation occurring on the other side of the room.

"They're… wow."

Edward inhaled sharply as he finally heard the boy's voice. There was something to it- some depth that he could scarcely hear that intrigued him more than anyone else's ever had.

He noticed from the looks on their faces that the rest of the family was also listening in on the conversation. Their thoughts showed that they were all more pleased than they normally would have been at the new boy's sentiment.

_What is it about this kid?_

Edward wanted desperately to look over, to see him again, but resisted, knowing it would be odd. Instead, he settled for hearing the new kid's thoughts.

To his complete confusion, he abruptly discovered he could hear nothing from him.

"Yeah. They get that a lot."

_Not that they deserve it. Why can't he look at __**me**_? _I'm better!_

He could hear Jessica's easily- why not his?

The new kid was becoming more of a mystery every second.

"That blonde one's really beautiful- what's her name?"

_Seriously? __**Her**__?_

Edward glanced over, seeing the slight smile on Rosalie's face as she looked over extremely briefly, just long enough to see Jessica's obvious distaste.

"I can't get any feelings from that new kid- it's like he's blocking me somehow."

Jasper's quiet comment immediately wiped away whatever smile may have been on Rosalie's face.

"Can you hear his thoughts, Edward?"

He shook his head slightly.

Everyone at the table- Alice excluded- sat up a little straighter, growing tense for the new development. Cheerful as ever, Alice continued to just look out the window.

"Who're the others?"

Edward bit his lip lightly as he heard the boy speak again. Something about that voice… these responses they caused in him were volatile- dangerous. He'd have to talk to Carlisle about this.

"The big one's Emmett, the other girl is Alice, and the last one's Edward."

Something suddenly shifted in the air of the cafeteria, something… unfamiliar.

Edward turned his head slightly, just enough that he could again see the new kid out of the corner of his eye. Everything looked normal, but he somehow knew that the new kid was doing _something_ to Jessica… Something no human should have been capable of.

"What is he doing?" He all but growled out to his family. They turned as he had, trying to discern what had changed around this mysterious young man.

Alice's smile became a smirk. "You should recognize it Edward- You've done it enough times."

The vampire's eyebrows shot upwards. He was reading her mind? Why?

_How?_

Going on a whim, he pushed into her mind as well.

… _That boy is a monster_.

Edward felt the other presence in her mind stir at that, but stay put.

_They __**all**__ are._

Again he felt the new kid shift in her thoughts. The sensation was so _odd_- he could feel him, feel him moving and listening, but he couldn't hear what he was thinking as he did so. Taking a final desperate stab, wondering if somehow listening to another's thoughts had lowered his barriers, Edward pushed forward, trying harder than any previous time to hear the new kid's thoughts.

The presence in Jessica's mind immediately pulled out, the new kid's eyes widening at the same time. Edward suddenly realized that not only was the other guy staring at him, he was staring right back. He abruptly turned away, pulling out of Jessica's thoughts at the same time.

"_Shit_." He hissed under his breath.

"What? What is it?"

Edward let out a taut breath, closing his eyes briefly.

"I think he knows I just tried to hear his thoughts."

Rosalie growled at him. "Edward…"

His head suddenly shot up, distracted, as he heard something else of concern.

_Let's see if you still find them so interesting after __**this**__, Harry…_

Harry? Was that his name? Edward had to fervently resist the sudden urge to look over at him, instead choosing to silently listen to Jessica's apparent "bombshell".

"They're all, like, adopted siblings. Dr. Cullen and his wife adopted them."

He tensed slightly, noticing as his family did the same, even Alice this time. Why was she talking about their parents?

"All of them?"

Edward didn't need to be able to hear her thoughts to feel Jessica practically bursting with excitement at what she was sure would somehow land her Harry's interest.

"Yeah, _all_ of them." Then, as if it had just come to her, the gossip added, "They say their mom, Esme, can't have kids."

Edward immediately scowled. _Who was she to talk about Esme, the stupid bitch?_ The low growl his siblings emanated matched his mood perfectly. So loud were his family's raging thoughts Edward almost missed Harry's reply, but when it hit his ears, he turned to face the new kid full on in complete shock, his family doing the same.

"… That makes you _smile?_ A woman can never have a child of her own and you _smile_?"

The feeling in Edward's stomach jerked again. He briefly looked over at his family, seeing them to be as shocked and impressed as he was, but he turned back around when he heard that Harry wasn't done- far from it, actually.

"Anyone willing to take in five kids is obviously a caring, selfless woman." Harry stood, and though he wasn't tall by any means, he looked dramatically imposing as he leaned down at the spluttering girl. "Something _you'd_ clearly know nothing about. I know it'll be hard for you, but how about you try doing this amazing thing called _thinking_ before you spout shit about other people? There's more to life that just you, you self-centered, unfeeling _bitch._"

Rosalie grinned savagely as the obnoxious girl was torn down in front of everyone, and Edward soon found himself and his siblings following suite.

But Harry still wasn't done.

Edward smirked as he leaned in close, making Jessica look like she was about to piss herself.

"Oh, and I'd like to tell you to go choke on your judgmental self-righteousness, but I'm sure you've already suppressed your gag reflex."

The idiotic girl's open mouth soon became just another piece of ammo.

"I'd get used to having your mouth like that. Should help you on your career path."

Emmett openly laughed at the comment, and Edward soon found himself doing the same. The rest of the cafeteria was too preoccupied to notice the odd change in behavior from the Cullen's table.

Edward's grin refused to fade as Harry walked out of the cafeteria and he turned back to his siblings.

Alice mirrored his expression as she caught his gaze.

"I _like_ him!"

Edward couldn't help but agree.

* * *

Harry's smirk faded a few seconds after he had left the cafeteria as the reality of his situation finally smashed down on his adrenaline high.

_What the hell did I just do?_

The wizard slid down to the ground from his position leaning against the wall of one of the buildings. He slammed his face into his upturned palms in horror at what he had just done.

After only hours at his new school, Harry had already committed social suicide. No one who liked Jessica was going to talk to him now, instantly leaving him to only whatever other groups might accept him, more than likely the outcasts. It seemed that even when no one knew his past, Harry was incapable of the simple act of fitting in.

"Fuck fuck _FUCK!"_

His mumbled words were the only way he had of vocalizing his frustration.

What had possessed him to defend that family? He didn't even know them, and on top of it all they weren't even human. It wasn't like they had done something for him.

His only consolation at this point was that his explosion had had a lot more going behind it than just the Cullens- the mother comment had jabbed at Harry's own lack of one, and Jessica's annoying personality was just _asking_ to be ridiculed.

The bell suddenly rang sharply from behind and above him, and Harry let out an inadvertent, though explosive, sigh. Already it was time to face the music.

Harry pushed himself up onto his feet, but nearly fell back down when he looked up to see Alice suddenly standing in front of him, looking for all points and purposes as if she'd been there the whole time.

His words came out haltingly as he tried to speak through the shock. "U-Uh… Hi?"

If it hadn't have looked completely insane, he would've punched himself right then and there for his lack of articulation. To his surprise, the small brunette in front of him just laughed lightly.

"Hi! I'm Alice." She tilted her head in the direction of the cafeteria. "From lunch."

Harry struggled to think of what to say. A minute ago he had just made a scene defending this girl's mother even though he didn't know her… what do you say after something like that?

"Hi… Alice. I'm, uh- Harry."

_Name. Name's always a good place to start._

The spritely girl's smile pulled wider. "It's nice to meet you, Harry! Did you want to walk to class together? We both have the same one."

Somehow her bright attitude and offer had the completely different effect that Jessica's had. True, it confused him, but he found himself actually _wanting_ to accept her offer- and he somehow knew that her outgoing nature wasn't from wanting to get in his pants, like the gossip's had been. This was innocent, kind.

Harry smiled. He couldn't help it- Alice's was infectious.

"Sure. That'd be great."

Alice grinned and rushed forward almost absurdly fast, looping her arm through Harry's and grasping his hand tightly. It was oddly cold, but not uncomfortably so- the wizard found it… refreshing, to some extent.

Alice pulled lightly, leading the way as they headed to their class. The new influx of students coming from the cafeteria gave them a relatively wide berth, something Harry appreciated considering his little _show_ earlier.

The girl's smile faded just slightly as she turned her head to look over at Harry, her tone soft and more serious.

"I also wanted to say thank you for defending Esme like that. That was really kind and brave of you, doing that even though you don't even know us."

Harry smiled back at her shyly. "Well, I figured since what Jessica knows could fit in a thimble, she was obviously wrong about that too." He shrugged, looking away almost embarrassedly. "Anyone smart would've told her off."

Alice's smile shifted into a smirk. "You'd be surprised, when it comes to us."

Harry's brow furrowed at the odd comment, but he chose not to question it as they stepped into the classroom.

* * *

The class dragged on, but talking with Alice made it better. They talked about the nothings that teenagers were supposed to be able to discuss- a nice change from the seriousness Harry had been regulated to for a large chunk of his short life. As they spoke he tried to idly note her characteristics, hoping they could clue him into just what he was dealing with in these Cullens.

By the time the bell rang he was _pretty_ sure they had something to do with Veelas. But even for the time spent with Fleur and the knowledge he had gained from it, he still found himself painfully uneducated on the finer points of their physiology. Harry cursed himself for not paying closer attention in his classes on other magical beings.

Alice immediately stood, again grabbing Harry's hand and dragging him up and out of the room. It had begun to rain softly outside, and the sight caused Harry to pause momentarily. Alice was happy to oblige him; she stopped as well to look at it for a moment. When she saw him pull back to reality, she tugged lightly on his hand, pulling him towards their next class.

Harry found himself wondering what possessed the young woman to so constantly want to initiate physical contact with him, but he also found that he enjoyed the change of pace. It reminded him of better times, when he still had friends to touch like this.

Alice's words brought him back to their conversation, a slight smile still on her face.

_Was she ever __**not**__ smiling?_

"So how do you like Forks so far, Harry?"

Harry mulled it over for a minute. He realized after a moment that his words to Jessica, though originally meant only to annoy her, had actually been true, and said as much. "I like it. It's quiet… beautiful. A nice change."

A few seconds later Alice slowed to a stop, her gaze directed down the hall. Harry noticed that Edward was standing at the end of her line of sight, preparing to enter his next class.

"The first time they come here a lot of people think it's dark… brooding." She glanced over and up at him, smiling as she noticed that Harry found he suddenly couldn't tear his eyes from Edward.

Bored, disinterested, and still remarkably intriguing Edward.

She continued after a moment, knowing her words were having the desired effect.

"But once you get to know it… get closer to it- you realize this place is really beautiful."

Edward's brow furrowed slightly and he glanced up, catching Harry and Alice's gaze. Harry immediately looked away, embarrassed for staring, but Alice just smiled even more mysteriously as she held Edward's stare.

"You just have to know where to look."

* * *

Edward found himself growling deep in his throat before he could even think to stop.

Alice was being metaphoric, Harry had been staring at him, and he _still_ couldn't hear the damn kid's thoughts. He had been trying all since lunch, and not a single stray sentence had reached him.

Harry was holding him away somehow, and it was about to drive Edward to the brink of insanity. He knew he wasn't human- he couldn't be. But not being able to hear his thoughts made further explanation impossible.

Alice raised an eyebrow at him silently, and he tuned into her mind.

_If you're really that interested in him- and the look on your face says you are- try __**talking**__ to him. Get to know a person like the __**rest**__ of us have to._

Edward frowned at the idea. He hadn't had to deal with human interaction in that way in longer than he could remember- he wasn't sure he wanted to.

Then again, for the little green eyed mystery on the other end of the hall, he was starting to think he was willing to try.

* * *

**So... yeah. A lot more Harry and Edward interaction to come next chapter. But our friend the wizard isn't in the clear yet- his little scene went far from unnoticed, after all… **

**Cue dramatic music!**

**Oh, and I just realized that this is one of those examples where the characters finally don't actually say the chapter title. Just something interesting.**

**Anyway, hope you all liked it! Review if you did.**


	5. Don't Look At Me Like That

**Hi everybody! I don't how I could thank you all as much as you deserve for all the attention you've been giving this story, I just know it'd never be enough. You guys are awesome, and all your kind reviews, alerts, and faves are what are pushing me to write this fast. You guys are inspirational. **

**Now as for Bella:  
****The way I have the storyline planned out, there's really only room for her as a secondary character whose only real use is as another person to be bashed. And while I'm not against bashing necessarily (case in point, my whole scene with Jessica, lol), I think that introducing a character **_**solely**_** for that purpose isn't always the best idea (I needed Jessica, bashing and all, to make some sort of connection between Harry and the Cullens, hence her being in the story). So unless something changes, I don't really plan on having Bella in this story. Hope you all don't mind!**

**I hope you all like this next chapter! It's the longest yet, and a lot happens. Thanks for reading!**

**I don't own either of these stories.**

* * *

"_**Don't Look At Me Like That"**_

* * *

It had all been going so well. He may have exploded on Jessica and killed all chances of friendship with her group, but already he had befriended Alice. It seemed like, with the Cullens' help, things might actually be alright.

Then came gym.

It had started with a few dirty looks in the locker room from boys he was pretty sure must've been Jessica's friends- he recognized a few of them. At first he had tried to shrug it off, having had plenty of experience with that sort of thing from Hogwarts.

But it abruptly took a turn for the worst when they actually started class- dodge ball. He hadn't been targeted that much since back when he played Quidditch, and even that was almost incomparable to this.

Still, hard-trained speed and agility were on his side, and he managed to avoid nearly all of the balls coming his way.

This only seemed to make the others more pissed.

By the time he reached the lockers again at the end of the period Harry was growing increasingly concerned. Whatever was going on, this wasn't going to be good.

He had barely pulled his normal shirt back on when he was suddenly spun around. His back was slammed into the locker, and he quickly realized one of the tallest boys of the class was the one now holding him against the wall.

Harry cursed himself for his own stature. Normally his magical ability made up for his lack of height and muscle, but in this instance he couldn't _use_ his magic- not in front of so many muggles.

He was instantly back to being just the scrawny kid others saw as prey, a notion pointedly supported by the predatory gleam in the kids' eyes.

_Shit… Don't look at me like that…_

Before Harry could think of anything intelligible to say- not that anything would probably get him out of this- he suddenly pitched to the left as a punch hit him on the right side of his face, then the right as a fist collided with his left temple. He had meant to shield himself just enough to soften the blow without really showing his magic, but the surprise of the attacks (having come from off to the side, rather than from the tall one) didn't allow for such a thing.

Harry's head slammed into the concrete with a solid crack, his world abruptly plunging into darkness.

* * *

Alice bounced her foot nervously. She was outside the gym, having intended to meet up with Harry now that school had ended, but now, minutes after the bell had rung, he still hadn't come out. Something wasn't quite right.

A shuddering breath suddenly escaped her as her eyes glazed, her mind drifting.

_Harry lay on the floor, obviously unconscious, a dark bruise forming on his temple. A tiny trail of blood coursed down from his split lip, leaving a crimson river across his pale skin…_

Alice gasped as she snapped back to reality. She spun around, crying out as loudly in her mind as she could.

_**Edward!**_

* * *

Edward immediately turned from his position by the car. In an instant he had placed where Alice's thoughts were coming from and was standing in front of her, trying to follow her manic mental ramblings. The rest of the family, confused, followed moments later.

"What? What is it?"

Alice's eyes were wide with concern when she grabbed his hand. "Harry." She tugged forcefully, dragging him into the gym and back into the locker rooms.

Rosalie turned to Jasper and Emmett. "What about him? Why does she need Edward?"

Both boys shrugged, choosing to follow the other two in.

* * *

Edward stepped into the locker room, thoroughly confused, Alice pulling at him with a desperation he hadn't seen in her in a very long time. They rounded a corner, showing another line of lockers, though this time with an unconscious Harry lying in front of them.

Something suddenly snapped in Edward.

Before he even realized what he was doing, the vampire was kneeling beside the unconscious boy, holding him tightly to his chest. His hand swept away Harry's hair, showing the bruise forming there.

Someone had hurt Harry.

His thumb brushed the unconscious boy's lip, wiping away the blood there with a shudder. The venom rose up in the back of his throat, burning at him, demanding he do as it wished. Behind him, Jasper shuddered as well, struggling with his roiling inner demons. But the way the wound called to Edward, the way his crimson lifeforce screamed to every nerve in his body, wasn't the same as it did to Jasper.

_It shouldn't be like this._

Dangerous.

Edward turned his head to speak to his family, though he knew they could have heard him anyway.

"We need to take him home. _Now._"

Rosalie's jaw dropped. Yes, she did feel bad for the kid, especially since this probably came from his defending her family, but this was just insane.

"There's no way in _hell_ we-"

Edward spun to face her, still holding Harry close. His voice was low and challenging when he cut her off.

"I'm taking him home _Rosalie_, no matter what the _fuck_ you say."

His sudden, uncharacteristic viciousness shocked the girl into silence for once.

"He needs Carlisle."

Emmett shifted uncomfortably. "Bro, there _are_ other doctors-"

The boiling look of calculated fury Edward shot him cut the larger vampire off before he could continue. Silence coursed through the locker room as it instantly and unknowingly became the battleground for a silent war of determination.

After a few moments, Alice finally broke the stillness, though her voice held none of its normal mirth.

"He's meant to come with us." She turned her eyes to Rosalie, who glanced over at her warily. "We'll need him just as much as he needs us soon."

Rosalie mulled it over in her mind. This was not good. Couldn't end well. Secrets were gonna come out, and the family would be unsafe. But there was no way for her to prevent what was going to happen at this point. She sighed explosively.

"Fine. Bring your little pity project home." She stabbed a finger at Edward. "But it's not gonna be _my_ fault when this all blows up in our faces." The frustrated blonde turned and stormed out of the locker room, heading for the parking lot.

After a moment of discomfort, Emmett opened then closed his mouth before finally speaking.

"I'll go talk to her."

He too left the locker room, though he looked far less hurried to do so.

Edward ignored them, focusing instead on the boy in his arms. His breathing was regular, his lip had stopped bleeding, and the bruise didn't look _too_ bad. In truth he probably didn't need Carlisle, but Edward was refusing to take chances.

_No one_ would hurt his Harry again.

* * *

The ride home was an uncomfortable one, full of silence. On the plus side, though, Alice was finally smiling again, which implied things would be better soon.

As soon as the car came to a halt at their home Rosalie was outside and to the door. She burst in, the others close behind her, and turned to the slightly surprised figures of Esme and a home-early-Carlisle.

"Edward brought home a pet. Hope you don't mind." Her voice was full of disdain as she stood resolutely in front of them just as Edward entered the house, Harry in his arms.

"He's not a _pet_." He hissed out before setting the younger man lightly on the couch and turning to Carlisle. "He got into a fight. He's a little scraped up."

Carlisle raised an eyebrow, intrigued by his son's odd behavior. "So you brought him home?"

Rosalie pushed her hair backwards forcefully. "My point exactly! There are other people that can help him."

Edward rounded on her. "He's different, Rose, even you can feel that. He's not even human, he can't be."

Frustration was etched into the girl's features as she continued to argue with her brother.

"All the more reason to avoid him! Humans are dangerous enough, and you don't even know what he _is!_"

Edward abruptly rushed forward, standing disarmingly close to Rosalie now.

"I don't _care_ what he is!"

Carlisle looked to his other children in confusion. Fights like this were rare- and a fight with Edward almost unheard of. How had one boy managed to cause such a war between his children?

They could only shrug for the moment, nearly as confused as he was. In the meantime, Rosalie let loose whatever remaining anger she could.

"Have you gone _completely_ insane? You- I-" The blonde let out a cry of frustration as words failed her. She abruptly disappeared, slamming the door to her room as she raced into it at top speed.

Silence reigned at her departure, one that no one was excited to break. But a need for clarification overcame discomfort, and Carlisle spoke.

"I suppose there's a story behind all this?"

Edward's gaze went to the floor. Jasper's brow furrowed at the sudden feelings of uncertainty coming off of him.

Seeing that, for the moment, he was unwilling to respond, Alice spoke up for him, stepping closer to the unconscious boy as she did.

"This is Harry. He's a new kid, from England. He was the one in the vision Edward and I had."

Jasper and Emmett exchanged a glance, and both Esme and Carlisle looked at Alice in confusion. It was the latter who replied.

"A vision that you _both_ had? When was this?"

Edward suddenly looked increasingly uncomfortable, biting his lip. Alice looked over at him, just as confused as the others.

"Didn't you tell them?"

Edward refused to meet her gaze, instead choosing to continue to look at the floor.

"It… didn't come up."

The smaller vampire crossed her arms, the furrowed expression on her face displaying her annoyance.

"You said you'd tell them while I was hunting!"

Edward glanced up at her momentarily with an expression she couldn't place. His words were hesitant, a quiet shadow of the surety and strength from just moments earlier when arguing with Rosalie.

"Must've slipped my mind, then."

Alice let out a breath of confusion at Edward's odd behavior. This new timidity was a complete 180, and that made her concerned. Still, she answered Carlisle's question.

"A week ago, I started to have a vision. When I called to Edward and he came over, I grabbed his hand and somehow pulled him in." She again glanced over at him, but his eyes remained on the floor. "It wasn't like a normal vision- it was like Edward was truly experiencing it, and I was just watching it." She looked over at him again, thinking he'd take over from there, but realized with a huff of frustration that her brother had no intention of speaking, and continued.

"It was less like _seeing_ a future and more like _deciding_ one. Edward influenced… _something_… and basically decided that this kid," She gestured towards the couch, "Harry, would come to Forks."

The other members of the family mulled over the news, with varied conclusions. Emmett and Jasper recognized that the odd circumstances probably had something to do with why Harry felt so different, but still in the dark on most of the particulars, Esme and Carlisle struggled to glean much from it. Carlisle said as much.

"While intriguing- and I can honestly say I'm not quite sure what to make of your vision- I think we're still missing a few pieces of this." Esme nodded from his side.

Alice glanced over at Jasper. Taking that as his cue, he chimed in.

"Well, as soon as we got to school today, something felt different. Like something was… off. We figured it must've been Harry, since he was the only change to things."

Alice smiled brightly. "Then at lunch, we figured out we were right. For one, Edward can't hear his thoughts and Jasper can't get any feelings from him. Then that Jessica girl started talking about us, and Harry-"

Edward finally looked up, eyeing Carlisle. "… Read her mind. I felt him there, in her thoughts." His brow furrowed. "How could he have done that? He's obviously not a vampire."

Carlisle considered it for a moment. "There are more creatures out there than just vampires… though from his appearance, I'm not sure what he could be. For all points and purposes, he _looks_ human."

Esme stepped forward, looking Harry over. A look of motherly concern crossed her face as she inspected the wounds, lightly touching here and there. She glanced up at her children as she kneeled by the couch.

"How did he end up in this fight you mentioned earlier?"

Edward bristled at the mention of the conflict, but Alice continued.

"After he read her mind, Jessica said some… other things."

Esme turned back to Harry to fuss over the now-healing cut she had just noticed on his lip. She replied without looking up.

"Like?"

Alice shifted her stance and bit her lip for a moment before she answered.

"She… talked about how you can't have kids."

Esme paused in her motions for a moment. But in the next, she returned to her action of brushing the hair away from Harry's bruise before smiling softly, sadly.

"Teenagers don't always think about what they say, dear."

"But Harry did!" Alice piped up, looking happier again. "He told her off, right there in front of everyone."

Emmett chuckled. "More like made a complete _ass_ of her in front of everyone…"

"And got the shit beat out of him for it…" Edward growled out furiously. Esme glanced up at the ferocity of his voice. This sort of emotion and interest… they weren't normal. She looked back down at Harry when Edward caught her gaze.

What was it about this mysterious boy that could change everything?

"The wounds aren't too serious. He should be easy to help, Carlisle."

The woman's husband nodded as he stepped forward to examine the damage himself. She stood and turned to face her children.

"Besides defending us to that… _girl_… have any of you properly met him?"

Edward shifted uncomfortably, but Alice perked up again.

"Yes! I've been talking to him all day, since lunch." Her face darkened just a bit. "Except last period. Gym. I went to meet up with him afterwards, and… well, that's how we found him."

A look of concern passed across Esme's face.

"Was this fight over what he said at lunch?" That this young man had been attacked just for defending them- a family he didn't even know- Esme felt a certain amount of guilt.

Jasper crossed his arms. "Must've been. I can't imagine it being from much else."

Carlisle stood.

"He should be fine. It doesn't look like there's any really threatening injuries- no concussion or the like." He turned his gaze to Alice. "He should wake up soon."

Her smile widened. "About half an hour."

"Then all we have to do is wait."

Emmett frowned. "I better go talk to Rose again then." He turned and headed up the stairs just as Alice glanced over at Edward.

"Jasper and I need to go talk too." The empathic vampire looked over at her. He quickly caught the hint in her eyes and followed compliantly, even as Esme mentioned something about the garden and hurried outside.

Edward found himself suddenly very appreciative of his family's capacity for consideration. He cleared his throat softly, drawing his father's attention.

"Carlisle?"

"Yes, Edward?"

Edward considered his words for a moment before letting out a slight sigh. "There are things about Harry… about the things that happen when I'm near him…" He shook his head. "I just don't get it."

Carlisle nodded softly, thinking he knew where this was going. Praying that it was what he suspected.

"Could you give an example?"

Edward considered it. "At lunch today, when I saw him for the first time, I felt… nervous. Excited." He looked at his father almost pleadingly. "You know I'm not like that, not normally." He glanced out the window. "Then his voice… It did things to me no other one has. There was just _more_ to it than anyone else's." He again established eye contact. "Does that make any sense?"

Carlisle smiled. "More than you'd expect." He sat down on a nearby chair, clasping his hands together as he did. "Tell me, Edward- how do you _feel_ when you look at Harry? When you're near him?"

Edward glanced over at the still unconscious boy, and again felt the emotions he was more and more associating with Harry stir themselves to the surface.

"I- I feel like I need to protect him. Keep him safe from everything in this world that could hurt him." He shook his head in frustration. "But at the same time, I feel more energized than I ever have, like I'm about to explode. I feel… _dangerous_." He closed his eyes, praying his next words wouldn't make him sound insane. "I- I feel like that energy is being saved up _for_ him. But I don't know how to let something that strong out, not unless I was trying to hurt him."

Carlisle was quiet for a moment before replying.

"There are other ways to let out your energy on someone, Edward." His voice was low, as if treading carefully. "… _Gentler_ ways."

Edward's brow furrowed. _Gentler? What was that supposed to-_

Wait.

The vampire's eyes suddenly went wide as realization punched to the front of his thoughts.

_Oh my __**God**__._

It all made sense. All the weird emotions, reactions. A vision where he _chose_ to bring this boy _here_, to him.

_No._

He shook his head, though he felt it happening only numbly- already his senses were tunneling.

"No…" he muttered out loud this time.

Carlisle leaned forward, getting concerned, _fast._ Edward wasn't stupid, and he'd obviously pieced it together, but this was far from the expected response.

"Edward? What is it?"

The vampire's head launched up to look at him absurdly fast. Carlisle saw with trepidation that Edward had never before looked so much like a terrified child, his eyes wide and flaring.

"I can't be, Carlisle. I can't, I- I'll kill him!"

Carlisle stood and grasped Edward's arm in an attempt to calm him down.

"Edward, you're panicking. It'll be fine, you're not going to kill Harry…"

Edward shook his head. "I'm too strong, too fast. I'll hurt him!" He closed his eyes, tried to slow his ranting. "His body- his _blood_ calls to me like nothing else has. When his lip was bleeding, it took all the control I had not to turn him right then and there."

Carlisle put a hand on each side of Edward's face, forcing him to look at him. "Edward, look at me." When he saw he finally had his attention, he continued. "You would _never_ hurt him. You know that." Still seeing fear and skepticism in his son's eyes, he turned to speak to the rest of the house. "Alice, Jasper, could you come here please?"

In an instant the couple was back in the living room, looking at Edward with concern. Knowing his role in this, Jasper sent out waves of calming emotions, helping take the edge off his brother's fears. Feeling the change in the air, Carlisle turned to Alice.

"Alice, can you see anything in the future of Edward hurting Harry? Harming him in any way?"

She smiled at her brother softly. "No. The opposite, actually." She grasped his hand. "You're going to help him Edward. More than you could know."

Edward looked to the floor. This situation was so odd- to think, just hours ago, everything was as simple as it had ever been.

Then Harry came.

He glanced back up. "This is still dangerous."

Carlisle took a step back, straightening his shirt as he did. "And you'll be careful, like always."

Alice bounced happily, clinging to Edward's arm. "But the point is, it'll be ok Edward." Her smile widened. "Better than ok."

"… And we'll have to stop the conversation at that, for now." Jasper added, a small smile gracing his features. "Our guest is finally coming to."

* * *

Harry's eyes fluttered open. His dreams had been odd, even by his standards, full of amber-gold rivers and things he kept reaching for, but were too far away to hold. Every time he got too close there was a crack and a wall of cement formed in front of his face. All the while, shadowy figures prowled in the peripherals, but when Harry turned to face them they'd be gone.

His eyes finally opened completely with a blare of light, shrinking his pupils to the size of pinpoints as he turned away from its luminescence.

Amber. The river was here, in front of him, though it had somehow turned into two pools, black islands rising in their centers. Harry reached out, knowing it could do no harm; the wall would stop him soon anyway.

With a blink of his eyes Harry finally broke free of his dreams, just in time to realize he was gripping Edward's shirt tightly in his fist.

Not pools. _Eyes_.

He hurriedly snatched away his hand in embarrassment.

"Shit- sorry."

Somehow those golden eyes flared brighter for a second, something no human's could do.

"That's alright. How do you feel, Harry?"

That voice… it was like silk. Silk, and ice, and velvet all rolled in one.

He wanted it.

Unfortunately, that was also the exact moment that the last vestiges of sleep abandoned him, leaving him in a room he couldn't remember being in, on a couch he didn't recognize, with a group of people he barely knew.

And then there was Edward, staring at him with an intensity that almost scared the young wizard.

"'M fine… Uh, Edward?"

The vampire smiled as he realized Harry remembered his name.

"Yes?"

"If you don't mind me asking, where the hell am I?"

All persons gathered laughed lightly, except the blonde in the back- Rosalie, wasn't it? He also noticed that in addition to the five children there were two adults he didn't recognize, apparently their parents.

Alice beamed even brighter from behind Edward. "You're in our house, Harry! We took you here after we… found you." She nodded towards Carlisle. "Our dad's a doctor, so we had him look you over."

"Found me?" Harry felt for his temple, remembering just how it was he had gotten to be on the floor of the locker room as his fingers brushed the bruise painfully. "Oh."

Carlisle smiled down at him kindly. "You should be fine, Harry. There's no real damage."

Feeling slightly uncomfortable under the gaze of so many people, Harry pushed himself up into a proper sitting position.

"Uh… Thank you, Dr. Cullen, for checking on me." He turned to the others. "And thank you to all of you, that was really nice of you to go to all the effort of making sure I was okay."

The others smiled again, Rosalie excluded as usual. As for Edward, he continued to just stare intently.

Suddenly feeling very uncomfortable in the silence, Harry rubbed his arm before moving to stand.

"Well, I, uh- I better go-"

Edward had immediately stood with him, and now made the tiniest move closer to Harry.

"Do you have to?"

Harry looked over, surprised by the desperation swirling in those amber irises.

Something was definitely odd about the teenager now looking down at him.

Caught off guard by the question, Harry struggled to answer. "Well, uh- no. It's just I didn't want to inconvenience you anymore then I already have-"

All at once the female adult, Esme, pushed herself forward, grasping Harry by the arm and pulling him towards the kitchen.

"Oh it's no inconvenience, dear! It's a pleasure to have a guest. Here, let me fix you something to eat- you must be starved after all that."

Harry was immediately reminded of Mrs. Weasely, and noted with slight amusement that apparently a ten second fist fight was considered "all that".

_I wonder what she'd think of all the real fights I've gone through…_

Before he could even consider dissuading her, Esme had pushed him into a chair at the table and was already whirling to start up some meal.

He turned to the doorway just in time to see Edward step in.

* * *

"What are you all _doing?_" Rosalie growled out, too low and fast for Harry to have heard. "I swear, you're acting like he's just some house guest. He's not a human, and he could be dangerous, and-"

"And he's Edward's mate." Carlisle resolutely cut off his daughter's rant.

"A-" Rosalie's words suddenly halted. "He's _what_?"

Jasper turned to her, his voice harsher than normal. "His _mate._ Or did you forget that he hasn't found his yet?" He added bitingly.

Rosalie, for her part, truly seemed hurt by the implication. "I- Of course not, but- but _him? _You're sure?"

Alice frowned slightly. "What, like there's something wrong with him?"

"No, but… he's not a vampire. He's not even a _human_." She let out a sigh, her golden eyes rolling. "Only Edward. Only Edward would be forced to have someone so complicated…"

Jasper smirked. "Seems fitting, if you ask me. He's not exactly simple, himself."

Rosalie cocked an eyebrow. "True…"

Alice smiled. "He'll be fine. It's about time Edward had some complication in his life."

* * *

Fifteen minutes of talking about nothings with Edward, a plate of completely garnished chicken parmesan (which, when questioned, Esme admitted shyly was a recipe she'd been wanting to try out for a while now), and quick chat with Alice later, and Harry felt it was surely time for him to be leaving. He stood and said as much, which seemed to sorely disappoint Edward.

"You don't have to leave, not yet. It's not an inconvenience."

The words were hurried, longing.

This was… odd. Harry wasn't sure how he felt about it all. When he was just talking to Edward, things seemed fine, but whenever they weren't, there was an almost jealous gleam in his eyes, and he always rushed to convince him to stay, to keep talking. It wasn't the sort of reactions Harry was accustomed to.

"I'd really better go. I have things I've got to get done back at my house."

Edward was grasping at straws. He was scared of hurting Harry, and that implied he should try to stay away, but this intoxication wasn't going to fade that easily. He wanted him to just stay and keep talking till there was nothing left to say.

"Then at least let me drive you to the school to get your car. You shouldn't walk back, it's too far."

Unable to deny that, Harry conceded, albeit with slight trepidation.

Minutes later he had said his goodbyes, promising to a smiling, insistent Esme to return soon, at which Rosalie stiffened slightly, though didn't seem completely opposed to for once.

… And then came the car ride.

* * *

Though Edward drove fast- _very_ fast, actually- it still seemed to take quite a while. They talked about little things, like classes and teachers, but though he continued to talk as though nothing was wrong, Harry was getting increasingly nervous.

Something, some sort of cyclonic, pressing tension was building between the two of them. The words he sought to say, though short, were becoming harder to release. His throat was catching, his tongue was slipping, and it felt like something was jerking in his stomach and chest every time Edward opened his mouth.

This wasn't normal. What was more, inexperience with them meant that these feelings weren't safe.

Harry cleared his throat, fingering the collar of his shirt as he did. The air in the car seemed almost… _thick_. And what was worse, it felt warm. _Very warm_, actually.

"Is it kinda… hot in here?"

"I hadn't noticed." Edward gave him an odd look, but obliged him by turning the air higher. It seemed to be far from hot in the vehicle- the vampire would have gone so far as to say it was almost cold _before_ Harry had said anything.

But apparently burning up, the wizard spun the air ducts his way, directing them right towards his flushing face. He silently counted down the seconds till he thought they would reach the school, doing his best to speak jovially as he did, praying Edward wouldn't notice when his voice slipped.

As they finally pulled into the parking lot, Harry was sure that the space between them that pushed against his every word must be corporeal, it was affecting him so. His hand tapped forcefully against his knee as a way of distracting his building anxiety.

They came to a stop directly next to Harry's car. Edward threw it in park and looked over at him, and Harry found that those amber eyes were sending shivers down his spine.

_What. The hell. Is going. __**On**__?_

An hour ago, being in Edward's presence did none of these things. Now, alone with him in his car, the simple act of the man looking over at him, intending to speak, was enough to make Harry's stomach churn in fear.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye."

Harry let out a sigh of relief, though he wasn't entirely sure why. He reached for the handle of the door.

"Bye, Edward." He pulled the handle.

… Nothing happened.

Harry felt like something had just punched him in the stomach. He pulled again. Nothing.

_You've got to be fucking kidding me._

Edward laughed lightly at the look on Harry's face as he glared at the unresponsive door.

"That one sticks sometimes. Here, let me-"

Edward reached over across Harry and gripped the handle himself. The motion pushed Edward's scent Harry's way, an intoxicating blend he couldn't even begin to pinpoint. He almost asked what cologne he was wearing before realizing just how charged the air surrounding the other man seemed to be.

Oh yeah. Something was _definitely_ not right about all this.

The door opened, allowing a rush of fresh, rain-smelling air to hit Harry's nose and clear his thoughts. Edward pulled back, but remained just far enough over the center line to be nearer to Harry's than his own door.

"There you go."

The wizard violentally supressed the shudder that tried to claim his body at the words. A statement that simple should _not_ have been able to send that kind of tingle through Harry's body… He didn't know _what_ his body would do if Edward were to say something even the slightest bit suggestive.

With that thought prodding at his already nerve-wracked mind, Harry shifted off of the seat and out into the parking lot.

"Thanks, Edward." He shifted slightly. "For everything."

The vampire smiled, and Harry was horrified to find it actually made his stomach jump a little.

"No problem. See you tomorrow, Harry."

Harry smiled slightly, but closed the door and went to his own car without replying.

There was a lot to think over. It was going to be a _long_ night…

**

* * *

**

Ok, so I know that it probably seems like it's pretty early for Edward to have realized that they are mates. But in my defense, it just seemed to fit there, and besides, I think when he actually took the time to see how he felt when he was near Harry, paired with the vision, it would make sense for him to figure it out. That being said, I have no intention of having their relationship just blast off in the next chapter- Edward might know he wants to be with Harry forever, but Harry's far too confused to be thinking about something like that just yet, especially since the idea of a 'mate' would be foreign to him. It's gonna take him a while to sort all of this out.

**Well, that rather lengthy footnote aside, I hope you liked the new chapter! Review if you did. You guys are awesome, again, btw.**


	6. I Won't Stop Until That Boy Is Mine

**Hey guys! Thanks again for all the reviews and such, I'm really glad you guys are liking it so far! This one took a while to write, but it _is_ longer, so yeah. Hope you like it.**

**I don't own either of these stories.**

* * *

"_**I Won't Stop Until That Boy Is Mine"**_

* * *

Edward sped home even faster than normal, eager to get back to his family. In an odd move for the vampire, he had tried to mostly avoid their thoughts on him and Harry while the latter had been at the house; most of the time his own thoughts were too focused on the teen to bother with theirs anyway. Now he was curious to hear their opinions from their own mouths.

He came to a stop in front of the house and was inside almost before the car door could shut. He slid to a halt in the living room, noticing his family was already gathered, waiting for him. He took in a steadying breath.

"So… what do you think?"

* * *

Harry sank into the chair in his living room. He just didn't know what to think anymore- what to feel.

The wizard wasn't so naïve to believe he was completely his own person- he knew that through the machinations of the wizarding world and Dumbledore (no matter how good his intentions), he had been molded into what he was needed to be- someone who could save their world. In return for the fame (whether he wanted it or not), he was allowed to keep _most_ of his personality. But even _that_ was unclear, as time under the Dursleys had allowed for anything but blossoming and self-expression.

As such, Harry had been living something of an identity crisis since birth, but through the help of time, Hogwarts, and his friends, he thought he had finally learned all his own moves. He knew his body, knew what he was going to say before he said it and what he was going to feel.

Then Edward Fucking Cullen had to come and shatter everything he thought he knew about himself.

None of his emotions made sense anymore. His body was betraying him in every way possible, heaving and catching and shuddering for _no_ reason and at the worst possible times. Half the time the words tumbled out of his mouth long before he realized what he was saying, or refused to operate when he finally had an intelligent response.

It was maddening, and there was nothing he could do about it. The Cullens were the first people to show him any compassion in a long time, and he'd almost consider them friends. Alice (and, if he had anything to say about it, Edward) already were, after all. He couldn't run away just because they confused the only thing he was sure he had finally understood.

Himself.

* * *

Esme was the first to break, unable to hold it in anymore.

"Oh Edward, he's wonderful! Very polite and kind."

Carlisle smiled, putting an arm around his wife's shoulders. "I'm very happy for you, son."

Emmett smirked. "Seems cool enough. A little shy though." He nudged Alice with his elbow. "We'll have to work on that." The girl beamed over at him before turning back to Edward, her opinion of Harry being long since obvious.

Edward turned to face the last two holdouts- Jasper and Rosalie. The empath was the first to finally speak.

"I can't feel his emotions, but it's obvious from the way he acts around you that this is… right." He smiled slightly. "How it's supposed to be."

Edward smiled at the response, but then steeled himself.

Rosalie was up.

The blonde met his gaze and stared at him in silence for a few seconds. Finally she let out a soft sigh.

"Are you sure- and I mean _sure_- that this is the real thing? That he's your mate?"

Edward took a moment before nodding resolutely. His reply was low- almost vulnerable.

Another change.

"He is, Rose. I know it."

She stared for a few minutes more before a small smile cracked her mask.

"… Then I'm happy for you."

Edward let out a small laugh of relief, and before she could react he had swept the blonde up in a brief, though tight hug. Her eyes widened in surprise, as did those of everyone else in the room.

Harry really _was_ changing Edward.

When he pulled away, Rosalie poked him in the chest with a finger, still smiling.

"But if he hurts you, I'm tearing him into pieces so small they won't even know where to look."

Edward just grinned. Only from Rosalie's mouth could something like that sound endearing.

* * *

Harry twisted his hands into his hair, hoping that would somehow relieve this torrential confusion and frustration he was experiencing.

Even if he put all the issues with his bodily and emotional responses aside somehow, that still left one major clincher with all this Edward business. When he threw all his cards out on the table, they spelled one rather obvious point: That he apparently liked Edward.

But Edward was a guy.

A hot guy, mind you, and an interesting one at that, but a guy nonetheless.

… Which meant he was gay. Right?

The idea itself wasn't really _that_ terrifying- he had dealt with mocking and prejudice his whole life. But that didn't make it any less confusing.

Harry hadn't felt _truly_ sexually attracted to a woman, ever. There had been some sort of connection with both Cho and Ginny, but he had always known he couldn't be with them for the rest of his life- it just felt… _hollow_, somehow, like he was missing a major piece of the relationship equation. Thus had started the first suspicions that he might be gay. But as he had explained to Hermione when she had proposed the idea to him, he hadn't found any _man_ attractive in that "I want to be with them" way, either. As far as he could tell, he may as well have been asexual.

And then, like clockwork, Edward had to come and ruin that little theory too. He evoked feelings and bodily responses that most would say were, at the very least, a crush. But Harry could tell they were more than that- they had to be.

If only he knew _what _Edward was, this might all make a little more sense- perhaps he was a magical creature with the ability to project these feelings on someone for some reason. But the more he considered it, the less Harry felt the urge to stir up some encyclopedia and start scouring.

He _wanted_ the Cullens to trust him. Wanted them to consider him worthy of whatever their secret was and tell it to him willingly.

With everything he knew trying to spin out of grasp, Harry wanted- _needed_ something he could trust and hold onto. And if that was going to be the Cullens, then he was willing to wait it out.

* * *

The next day started just as dark and gloomy as the previous one, but Harry found it be more uplifting than he had once seen it. He may have been just as confused as the night before, but he was sure of one thing.

He wanted the Cullens' trust, and they were his friends now, so he was going to act like one.

When he arrived at the parking lot of the school, he noticed that the Cullens had apparently reached it just moments earlier. Rosalie and Emmett were already walking off somewhere, but they returned Harry's short wave as he exited his car and headed for the other three siblings. They seemed to be waiting for something.

He glanced back towards the school, noticing that the other students were now eyeing him for going near the Cullens.

_Fuck them._

He turned away from the other teens, instead flashing a smile towards Jasper, Alice, and Edward.

Alice returned it readily and Edward smirked at him, while Jasper gave him a polite nod. Once he was close, he spoke to them, his words sounding more unrestrained than the siblings could remember them being.

"Hey. You guys waiting for something?"

Alice flashed her perfect white teeth. "You."

Harry's brow furrowed slightly at the reply. "Me? Why?"

Edward's smirk held. "We have a little stop to make before class starts." Harry cocked an eyebrow, and the vampire's smile widened. "You'll see."

The Cullens led the way, with Harry now keeping stride between Alice and Edward. It felt… _good_ to be walking with them- like it was right, somehow. The way he used to feel when he was with Ron and Hermione. The wizard smiled. He found himself unable to care about the stares flashing his way as they approached what he recognized to be the administrative building. Harry followed his companions in, now confused.

They came to a stop in front of the secretary's desk. Edward spoke to her once she looked up.

"Our friend here, Harry Potter, needs to switch into last period Biology."

* * *

Harry's day was going remarkably- almost _abnormally_ well. He realized that he actually shared first period with Jasper, having not noticed him on the first day in his nervousness. In another display of the Cullen's odd ability to affect this school's decisions, the empathic vampire had somehow managed to get the teacher to change Harry's seat so they now sat next to each other. As soon as they reached their desks one of the office staff called the teacher outside for a moment, leaving the class to talk idly in his absence.

The wizard glanced over to his left when he felt two sets of eyes on him. Though their owners turned away as soon as they saw Harry shift, he quickly placed them as two of the boys from yesterday, one of them being the tall one who had held him in place. A cruel smirk began to play on his lips.

"Harry?"

The smirk was replaced by a genuine smile as he turned to face Jasper, looking concerned beside him.

"Yeah?"

He nodded towards the two boys. "Do you know them, or something?"

Harry just smiled a little wider before leaning down to get a pen out of his backpack. "Something like that, yeah."

From his position beneath the desk, Harry looked past Jasper's legs and focused in on those of the boys a few seats away, specifically on their shoes.

Harry closed his eyes for a moment, centering in on the forces churning inside. He then pushed them outwards, releasing a tying charm on the first boy's shoelaces. The shoelaces instantly unwound themselves from their loops and firmly knotted to each other. He then did the same to the other boy's and sat up at the desk, setting down his pen with a smile.

Jasper noticed it, but decided against asking Harry just what was so amusing.

As it just so happened, he was about to find out.

The taller boy got out his own pen and went to put it to his paper, but just as he did, Harry closed his eyes again.

_Impervius._

Suddenly impervious to the ink attempting to be drawn on it, the paper remained just as blank as it had ever been. Confused, the boy lifted the pen to his face and looked at the tip. Harry almost laughed at how easy this would be. He concentrated again.

_Expulso._

The ink in the pen suddenly burst outward, spraying into the boy's shocked face. Next to him, the other boy who had been involved burst into fits of laughter, as did most of the class as they noticed what had happened.

"Dude, you're so retarded!" He managed to gasp out between his laughs, to which his ink splattered friend scowled over at him.

"Shut up!" He looked down at his clothes, which had also been hit by the ink. "Just go get me a paper towel, you asshole!"

Still laughing, the other boy got up, a shit-eating grin plastered over his face.

Harry smirked viciously.

… _Erecto._

The standing boy failed to notice just how his body was reacting even as he paused a moment to try and calm his laughing before moving.

A girl to his left suddenly squealed in delight, her laughter immediately drawing everyone's attention.

"Damn, Scott, you must _really_ like seeing stuff splattered on his face!"

Scott's eyes suddenly went wide as he looked down at where the girl's eyes rested.

A new wave of laughter rose in the room, this time even stronger than the last, mostly driven by the giggling schoolgirls all around the mortified teen.

Not knowing what else to do, he went to walk forward, quite possibly to run out of the room, when his knotted shoelaces suddenly came back to haunt him. He abruptly tripped, slamming face first into the floor.

The laughter grew even louder, though Harry still only smirked.

He wasn't done yet.

Still embarrassed as well and seeing an excuse to get out of here, the tall boy got up as if planning to help Scott.

A quick loosening charm caused his belt to slip from the loops, and nowhere near tight enough to hold themselves up, the boy's baggy jeans immediately hit the floor.

Redder than Harry had thought a human face could be, he struggled to get his pants back on even as the still 'excited' Scott pushed himself to his feet. Barely pausing long enough to grab their backpacks, the two rushed for the door, stumbling over their shoelaces the whole time.

_Diffindo._

The bottom of their bags suddenly ripped open, spilling their contents out onto the hallway floor as they finally staggered out of the room.

Finally finished, Harry let his smile spread to its full width, even as their very confused teacher came back into the room, alternately staring between the door where two of his students had just run out and the unceasingly laughing students in the room, some of which were crying or were on the floor by now.

When Harry finally looked over again, Jasper was staring at him, and though he was smiling when he did, his eyes seemed to hold some secret knowledge flitting about behind the gold.

Harry somehow knew that Jasper could tell he was the one responsible for the little scene, but his clearly amused expression seemed to say that it was alright. Returning the smile, Harry spoke with a lightness he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Some people just have the worst luck, huh?"

Jasper chuckled, shaking his head.

"Looks like it."

Harry grinned, and turned back to the teacher now insisting his class return to Earth.

* * *

All but ignoring the lesson, the two had a lengthy discussion encompassing all manner of topics, all the way from Forks, to England, to Alice. By the time the bell rang, Harry found himself smiling more easily than he had in months, as did Jasper, a sight that sent the gossip crowd of the school reeling.

"Jasper was talking to someone other than a Cullen."

"And he was _smiling!"_

"Who even is that 'Harry' kid? Why is he suddenly best friends with the Cullens?"

_Why can't he want __**me**__?_ _Why would he go with those freaks?_

Though he was alone in his next few classes, Harry found he didn't mind much. The combination of his silence and the odd smile that kept coming to his face kept the others from trying to talk to him, a development he found especially satisfying.

The bell for lunch rang, and after Jessica has rushed past him with a huff, Harry stepped out himself. Almost before he was out the door Alice had appeared from nowhere (Harry idly wondered if, whatever she was, she could apparate) and gripped his hand, pulling him towards the cafeteria, smiling giddily.

"You're gonna have lunch with us from now on, Harry." She winked at him. "Maybe you'll make less of a scene that way."

The wizard laughed, one of the first real ones he'd let out in a long time. The sound made Alice grin even more. It was enchanting, rich- _real_. She couldn't wait to see the look on Edward's face when Harry did it in front of him. The thought made her giggle.

A quick rush through the lunch line and Harry was pressed into a seat between Alice and Edward. The gossip serpent tore its way through the cafeteria at the sight of the new kid sitting over with the Cullens- 'no one ever sat with them, what had made him so lucky?' Or 'stupid', depending on whom was talking.

For his part, Harry couldn't have cared less about what the gossips were saying. All that was on his mind at that point was the frighteningly small amount of space between Edward's shoulder and his own- in the car, in a small space where the other boy's scent was trapped and amplified by the re-circulating air within, Harry had nearly had a meltdown. He just prayed that now, sitting even closer to him than he had been before, the more free-moving air of the cafeteria would keep him grounded.

Edward's enticing voice shattered his thoughts, but Harry found that at least a shiver didn't go down his spine like it had before. Maybe there was some hope.

"So how has your day been, Harry?"

Emmett smirked over at him. "Yeah- anybody we need to fuck up for you?"

Rosalie rolled her eyes at his crude statement from her position at his side. "You'll have to excuse him- he was dropped a few too many times as a child."

"Hey!"

Alice, Jasper, and Harry all laughed at the comment, and Rosalie flashed the wizard a small smirk, but Edward suddenly shuddered as he finally heard his raven laugh for the first time.

The vampire's eyes dilated and something in his chest jerked. His skin tingled, and he took in a large breath in an attempt to clear his head.

Unfortunately, what he got was a full intake of Harry's all-too-alluring scent. Far from clearing his mind, it was suddenly filled with images of the small wizard's angelic face, followed by fantasies of Edward pressing his lips to his counterparts so hard he nearly bruised them- Pressing that small, tight body against a wall… Still more threatened to come to the surface when suddenly he felt an elbow nudge his arm, the touch sending an electric pulse through his skin.

"Edward, you ok?"

His vision focused back in on Jasper sitting across from him, a concerned look on his face, before he turned to the left to face the speaker, Harry.

He shook off whatever vestiges of the images remained and answered him readily, though perhaps a bit too quickly to sound sincere.

"Yeah- sorry, zoned out."

Both concern and skepticism filled those emerald eyes looking up into his, but Edward tried to ignore it. Unfortunately, he was also finding it increasingly difficult to look _away_ from those eyes, and Harry wasn't breaking contact either.

After a lengthy, though oddly enough not _uncomfortable_ moment, the sound of Jasper clearing his throat finally caught both of their attentions. Both of them suddenly looked embarrassed and looked away and down.

Emmett laughed. "Having fun over there?"

Alice smiled secretively. "Laughter's a pretty powerful thing…"

Both Harry and Edward glanced over at her in confusion, but she was just as unwilling to explain herself as she ever was.

A few minutes and a marked effort by Edward to be more careful when he was breathing later, Harry chanced a glance to his right, a small flash of light catching his eye. He quickly realized it was just a kid's watch, and went to turn back to the Cullens when he suddenly noticed just whose watch it was.

The tall boy from before was back, sitting at a table with all of the others who had been present when they ganged up on Harry, Scott included. Harry chanced a glance over at Jessica's table, noting that she looked disgruntled by the absence of a few of the guys that would normally be there, who had apparently chosen to all sit together for today to discuss something- probably the occurrences of the morning. Harry found himself smiling again as his eyes returned to the boy's table.

_All together, huh? How handy…_

Jasper was the first to notice Harry staring off at the other table, recognizing the look from earlier. All of the vampires looked over at him however as they felt his magic shift the air around him like it had the day before. Edward in particular looked over with mild concern as he felt Harry push his magic towards the other table.

_What are you doing?_

Harry closed his eyes for a brief moment as his magic jerked in his grasp, sizzling at the tips of his fingers. It longed for an incantation, longed to be focused to its purpose.

Harry obliged.

With a blink, the welds holding together the legs of the boys' chairs snapped. With a loud _CRASH _every one of them hit the ground at the same time with a cry of surprise. A half a second afterwards, all of their drinks tipped over, spilling down onto their now-floor-level laps.

"Ah, _fuck_!"

"Shit!"

"God, you got to be _kidding_ me!"

Harry smirked, then blinked one last time.

Just like with the chairs, the welds holding on the legs of the circular table snapped, causing the legs to fall inwards and the entire table to drop down onto the boys' waiting crotches.

Some let out a high pitched squeak, others a drawn out groan, and in the case of a few of them, they were in far too much pain to make any sound at all. The cafeteria burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter as the student populace looked over at their hapless peers. Still smiling, Harry turned back to face the Cullens. Emmett was laughing, Rosalie looked mildly amused, Edward just raised an eyebrow, and Alice and Jasper smirked back at him. The latter spoke, clearly amused but attempting to sound conversational.

"Hey, those are the two guys from first hour, right?" He asked, knowing full well that they were.

Harry looked over as if trying to find who he was talking about, going along with their inside joke. "I guess you're right, Jasper! Huh. That luck must be contagious…"

Jasper's smile pulled wider and he let out a laugh. "Must be…"

Edward's brow furrowed, and with a glance from Jasper he listened for his thoughts.

_Those are the boys from yesterday, Edward. The ones who messed with Harry- he just finished enacting a little revenge…_

Though he was glad to see the ones who had hurt Harry in pain, he growled lowly at being reminded of the attack on his mate. He scooted ever so slightly closer to Harry, not enough for him to really notice, but enough to make the protective vampire feel better.

Harry glanced over to that side of the table briefly. _Did someone just… __**growl? **_The expressions on the faces of all the Cullens, Edward included, belayed the idea of one of them making such a sound, however, so he chalked it up to just background noise.

* * *

Fifteen minutes of more normal conversation later and the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. The entourage got up and said their goodbyes, with Alice again grabbing Harry's hand and leading them towards their next class.

Once they had left the cafeteria, Harry cast her a sideways glance and asked his as-of-yet unspoken question.

"Alice?"

She looked over at him, still smiling happily. "Yes?"

"What exactly did you mean when you said, 'laughter's a powerful thing'?"

She smirked at him knowingly. "What I said."

His brow furrowed, but she just let out her light, tinkling laugh. "Some things you've gotta figure out over time, Harry."

Without giving any further explanation, she pulled him into the classroom and sat down, immediately starting up a new conversation, this time about Harry's favorite color. Confused as he ever was when he was with her, Harry just laughed lightly and answered whatever new questions she came up with till the hour had come to a close.

* * *

"We've already arranged it with the teacher so that you'll be sitting by Edward and me. You can sit between us again, like last time!" She added happily. Harry smiled slightly, trying to mask his concern at the new development.

He was getting a little scared of all this closeness to Edward- until he understood what these feelings were, and why they were causing all these sensations, being so close was getting dangerous.

Still, determined to keep up appearances, he smiled at the other member of the Cullen family as he and Alice settled into their seats at the small table. Edward smiled back, which gave him some measure of comfort.

But before long, the monsters from their previous interactions were coming back.

The air-conditioning in their room wasn't working that day, forcing the air to stagnate in its place. Before long, Edward's scent was reaching his nose, and he was sure his own was doing the same to his.

Harry noted with concern that, whatever Edward was, there was something very odd about his species- this wasn't just some cologne or perfume he was smelling, it was just… how Edward _smelled_ naturally. The ability to pick up on it was generally out of human capacity, especially to the extent it affected Harry. Something supernatural was obviously behind it, and that made the wizard even more nervous.

Meanwhile, Edward was having struggles of his own. He had never had these sorts of bodily reactions to _anyone_ before, and yet now they were occurring nearly every time he got too close to Harry. Every time the other teenager spoke, or smiled, or, god forbid, _laughed, _he began to lose the tight hold of self-control he'd had decades to master. It wasn't safe, and what was worse, Alice was just _smiling_ at him from the other side of Harry.

_It's alright, Edward. It's supposed to be like this, I saw it._

That Alice knew it would end out alright was some comfort, but he also knew his sister wasn't above skimming over some of the _difficulties_ that might arise before getting there.

As the period droned on, Harry tried to write down his notes while ignoring the contortions his senses kept trying to twist themselves into, but as he went to finish a sentence he bumped Edward's arm. He immediately jerked away, losing his grip on the pencil and letting it roll towards the front edge of the table.

"Sorry!" He rushed out before reaching to grab the writing utensil before it fell to the floor.

"I got it." Edward reached forward without thinking, again pushing his scent into Harry's senses as he leaned across him. In an instant, all the feelings from the car came back, but multiplied tenfold- a shudder rocked his spine and his eyes snapped shut, and before he could stop it he felt his magic reaching outwards, wrapping itself firmly around Edward and pulling the two of them closer together.

Harry's eyes went wide and he forced down his magic with every ounce of control he still had, snapping the connection it sought to make with Edward. For his part, after feeling the magic encircling him, the vampire's pupils had expanded so far his eyes went black.

At just that moment, the bell rang.

Harry immediately pushed himself to his feet, breathing in the fresher air a step away from the table. As his eyes finally focused back in on the present, Alice smiled knowingly at him- _again_- before turning to pull Edward gently from his own chair by his arm.

Edward found himself unable to make eye-contact for the moment, but Alice spoke to him just as cheerfully as ever.

"Did you want to walk to the parking lot together, Harry?"

The wizard felt something twist in his stomach. What he needed more than anything else at this moment was _time_- time to himself, time to think. The lie came easily as a result.

"Actually, I have to go talk to my Math teacher about some work to help me catch up." The fake smile he flashed her made him feel a little sick inside. "Apparently England takes it a bit slower than Forks."

But for her part, Alice just nodded understandingly. "Oh, ok- well in that case, we'll see you tomorrow?"

Harry smiled at her, but didn't really answer the question as he stepped out of the door. "See ya." He paused for just a moment before adding "Bye, Edward."

The other teen seemed to come back from the haze he had been floating in just in time to give him a short wave as he left the building.

* * *

After he had heard their footsteps fade away, Harry stepped away from the building he had been hiding behind and sunk to the grass, not noticing the feeling of the light rain hitting his body. He let his head fall into his waiting palms.

_What was going on?_

* * *

Edward frowned as they reached the parking lot.

"He's not talking to any Math teacher."

Alice glanced over at him. "I know."

"And you just let him go?"

She smirked wryly. "He's not _my_ mate, Edward."

She and Jasper smiled at him as realization dawned over his features.

"We'll see you back at the house." Alice gave him a wink before closing the door of the car.

_

* * *

_

And I thought I was confused

_**yesterday**__…_

The day may have started out well, but by its conclusion Harry just felt that much more frustrated at his convoluted relationship with the Cullens. Ever since lunch, each new hour had sent it into new realms of dark inconsistency. The wizard was beginning to wonder if he'd _ever_ understand these feelings and responses.

He had yet to realize that even now, amber eyes watched his rain-soaked form from the shadows of the building behind him.

_

* * *

_

Come on, Harry, let me in… Just give me _**something**_!

To the vampire's utter surprise, the small wizard in front of him actually complied, at the same instant that a small breeze had blown forward from behind Edward.

_

* * *

_

And then there's Edward.

No one had ever confused him as much as the other teenager, and he barely knew him._**Luna**__ makes more sense, for Merlin's sake!_

All at once a breeze suddenly hit him from behind, and it brought with it a scent all too familiar. Not even thinking of why he was able to smell Edward while sitting on the school grounds, supposedly alone, he inhaled deeply, letting his mind wander and his senses burn pleasantly. He didn't even realize that in doing so, he allowed his carefully constructed Occlumency shields to slip, ever so slightly.

_God, he smells good._ _**Too**__ good._ He sighed. _I like Edward. I have to for him to affect me like this._ He bit his lip. _He's just so fucking __**good**_- _his voice, his smile, the way he looks at me. It's-_

A sudden sound behind him stopped his thoughts mid-way.

* * *

Edward felt himself tip forward in shock.

Harry liked him.

Liked the way he smiled, and talked, and smelled.

Harry _wanted_ him.

The vampire stumbled forward as he tried to remember how to come back down to Earth.

* * *

Harry wondered for a moment who could've gotten behind him so silently before it all clicked into place.

Shit.

_That's_ _why you could smell him, stupid._

Closing his eyes for a moment, Harry raised his voice just enough to be heard over the pattering of the still-falling rain.

"Edward?"

* * *

The vampire froze.

_Shit! Busted._

Edward had planned on revealing his presence, but he had meant for it to happen at the time of his choosing. Harry's soft voice condemned that with a single word, however.

Not knowing what else to say, he replied with the most nonchalant phrase he could think of, though his anxiety could still clearly be heard in his voice.

"… Yeah?"

* * *

Harry continued to look forward as he spoke.

"Why are you just standing there, watching me?"

The wizard somehow felt Edward tense behind him, and he finally turned his head enough to see him standing by the wall of the building behind him.

Edward bit his lip lightly, a sight that sent another shiver through Harry's spine. He vehemently pushed the sensation down.

"I… I just wanted to make sure you'd be okay- that no one was gonna try to mess with you again."

Harry decided not to mention that, being after school already, it was highly unlikely that anyone was going to wait around to try and fight with him. Instead, he turned completely so that he now faced Edward full on, his wet hair flipping to the side as he did.

"Look, Edward, I appreciate the gesture, but I don't need you to protect me." Harry pushed himself to his feet.

* * *

Edward's throat locked at the sight before him.

The vampire simultaneously thanked and cursed the powers-that-be that had made Harry choose today of all days to wear a white shirt and one of his tighter pairs of pants.

The rain had thoroughly soaked down into the fabric, making it easily seen through and pulling it tightly to Harry's small, though cut frame. Edward felt venom rising up in his throat at the sight of the taut muscles moving just beneath the thin shirt, beneath that flawless skin…

Harry suddenly crossed his arms, dragging Edward's eyes back from their wanderings.

"I'm not a child."

Breath still refused to enter Edward's lungs, and his eyes widened just a fraction more as they settled in on those soaked pants that easily showed _everything_ Harry had to offer.

"I can see that…"

The way the words purred out from his own throat before he could even think to stop them only served to confuse and concern Edward that much more.

He heard Harry's quiet, sharp intake of breath at the words. The vampire squeezed his hand into a fist as tightly as he could, praying the physical sensation would drag him back to his normal level of control.

He blinked firmly, noting the look of idle concern on Harry's face. Determined to salvage this encounter, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"You shouldn't stand out here in the rain- you could get sick."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the odd change in conversation, but replied in turn.

"So could you."

_That's what you think…_

Edward just smirked slightly. "You've been out here longer than I have."

Harry huffed out a breath and looked away. "Whatever." Then, so quietly that Edward might not have heard it had he been human, he added sadly, "I like the rain."

Feeling a burning desire to make sure that voice never sounded that sad again, Edward found himself stepping closer before he could stop himself. In another instant he was standing beside Harry.

"So do I."

Harry turned and looked up at him, but just as he did the breeze started up again, this time from the other direction. It blew through the wizard's hair before hitting Edward's superior sense of smell.

In less than a second, Edward's nerves were on fire.

_That voice… that scent…_

Edward needed Harry. _Now._

Before he could think to do otherwise, he was suddenly on top of Harry, pressing him into the wet grass with his tensed body. The wizard's eyes went wide in an instant as he realized what had happened.

_How had he moved that fast?_

Cold, hard flesh pressed on his, and the firm body hovering just above his own shook ever so slightly in an attempt to stay in control.

Edward's breathing was coming fast, and when he finally managed to speak, his voice sounded hoarse- barely contained.

"W-why do you make me feel this way?"

Harry found himself unable to look away from those flaring, golden orbs. Time seemed to stretch on infinitely as emerald and amber refused to break contact. When he finally answered, it wasn't quite what he had expected himself to say.

"I could ask you the same thing."

Edward's eyes widened the slightest bit, and in another instant he was standing above Harry looking extremely embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I- I don't know what just came over me."

Harry pushed himself up onto his elbows, looking up at Edward with an expression he couldn't place, but that sparked emotions that were becoming all too familiar.

"It's alright. I… It's kinda my fault too." He ended hurriedly, looking away.

Edward's brow furrowed, but he decided not to question Harry on it. Instead, he hesitated for a moment before holding out a hand to help him up. The wizard took it, steeling himself as the action pulled him all but into Edward's arms. When he took a step backward away from the firm chest he had contacted, he could've sworn he heard something akin to a growl arise from the other teenager.

_This should feel way more awkward than it does- why isn't this more uncomfortable?_

"Did you want a ride home?"

Harry blinked as the words spilled from his mouth. That was definitely _not_ what he had meant to say.

And what was worse, Edward readily agreed.

Cursing himself for not keeping tighter rein on himself, Harry outwardly offered a smile, though its sincerity was questionable. He just prayed this car ride wouldn't be like the last one.

* * *

The spell used to cut off the wires between the air-conditioning and the interior controls was a simple one, but right about now it was one of the most important charms Harry could imagine existing.

With a well placed "Damn!" and a lie about how the air-conditioning had been messing up all this week, Harry felt he had pretty well convinced Edward that it was, in fact, broken. Banking on this, he suggested they roll down the windows. Edward complied, and the fresh air slamming Harry in the face managed to sufficiently belay any effect Edward's scent might have normally had in the close quarters.

For the first time since that fateful car ride the night before, Harry found he could actually just _talk_ to Edward, and it felt good. He was smiling nearly the whole time, and he laughed often, though he saw that the latter seemed to have an odd amount of impact on Edward.

Harry chanced a glance over at the boy sitting beside him, liking the way Edward looked when he was relaxed like this. Wondering what went on in the brain behind that handsome face, he decided to try his hand at another bout of Legilimency.

Harry pressed against Edward's mind lightly, trying pointedly to not be too forceful. It was immediately clear that he had stronger natural defenses than Jessica, but the wizard was inclined to believe a _cat_ would have stronger mental abilities than that girl. He pushed in a little deeper.

* * *

Edward's eyes suddenly widened a fraction as he felt Harry's magic press against him, reaching for his thoughts.

Suddenly on the other side of what he had always considered a power only _he_ had, the vampire panicked slightly, trying to remember every technique that had ever been used against him in the milliseconds he had.

_Music!_ The idea lanced across Edward's thoughts. Of course- it was a method Alice was particularly fond of. With no time to think of a different song, he mindlessly recited the words coming through the speakers of the car.

* * *

Harry entered Edward's thoughts, expecting to hear some internal monologue, quite possibly involving him.

Instead he was suddenly confused as only the lyrics of the song on the radio flared in his mind.

_Can't read my, can't read my, no he can't read my Poker Face…_

Harry inadvertently cocked an eyebrow, smirking at the same time. So Edward knew how to block the important things from showing? He glanced over at the other boy briefly, who was currently discussing something about Biology. He was more skilled than the wizard had expected. His smile pulled wider as he nodded to the side conversation, trying to grant it at least some attention.

_Poker Face, huh?_ _Fitting…_

* * *

The ride continued easily, with both sides a bit calmer for the knowledge that neither could hear the thoughts of the other. In Harry's case, he respected that that put them on a level playing field; in Edward's, it allowed him to quell the terrifying fears of letting something slip in his thoughts.

By the time they finally pulled into the Cullen's driveway, Harry found himself feeling better about his odd relationship with Edward than ever before. As they came to a stop, he looked over at the wizard, seeming a bit conflicted.

"Do you have a cell, Harry?"

The wizard smiled at Edward's shyness at asking for his number.

"Yeah. Here, give me yours, and I'll put the number in."

Edward complied, handing over the phone. Harry handed him his, inviting him to do the same.

But as he went to go to Edward's contact list, Harry failed to realize his mistake. He was leaned in close to Edward, and with the air-conditioning off and no movement to push fresh air through the windows, his internal "Edward's-too-close-ometer" was spiking dangerously.

It started out with a slight sigh, in which his eyes closed for a moment. In the next they had opened again, but his emerald eyes had dilated to the point where they were nearly completely black. The wizard unconsciously shifted farther to his right as he struggled to remember just what he was supposed to be doing with Edward's phone.

His arm brushed the other boy's, but though Edward didn't notice (he was too busy struggling to understand Harry's phone's odd mannerisms), it sent a pulse through the wizard that shook him all the way to his core.

His mind in a haze, unable to think of the consequences of what he was doing, Harry let the hand holding Edward's phone lower as he turned and leaned in closer to the center of his dazed attentions:

Edward.

Harry's warm lips were less than an inch from the teen's cheek when Edward suddenly felt his warm, soft breath on his face. His eyes went wide as he saw the look on Harry's face and how close he now was.

"Harry?"

In an instant the half lidded eyes suddenly snapped open completely. Bottomless pupils shrunk to their normal size at the same moment as real life punched Harry dead on in the face.

The wizard launched backward, sinking deeper into his seat on the other side of the car. His face flushed in embarrassment, and, glancing down at the phone in his hands, he held it out to Edward without looking at him.

"Uh, h-here you go."

The vampire raised an eyebrow but took it, handing Harry his own in its place. Unsure of what else to say he opened the door and stepped out before leaning back in.

"Thanks for the ride. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

Harry inclined his head a bit and smiled weakly, but it was obviously forced. As with Alice, he didn't truly answer the question, but it seemed enough to satisfy Edward since he smiled back and said "Bye," before closing the door.

Harry immediately threw it in reverse and all but peeled out in his rush to get out of the Cullen's driveway and headed back for home.

In truth, he knew he couldn't have answered Edward unless he wanted to lie to him. After all the events of today, Harry needed some time to think and some space away from all this confusion, and school was the last place for that.

Maybe a day of staying home would help clear some of this up…

* * *

Edward walked into the house in a daze, his fingers pressing the spot on his cheek where Harry's lips had so nearly connected.

_Harry was about to kiss me._

Alice looked over at him as he entered the living room, grinning madly. Jasper smiled beside her at the expression on his brother's face.

"Well?" She asked teasingly.

Edward paused for a moment before looking over at her.

"He almost kissed me." Alice bit her lip as he glanced up at her to keep from smiling even wider.

"And…?"

One thing was now painfully clear in his mind, and he said so, a sly smile coming on his face as he did. His siblings returned it readily when they heard his next words.

"… I won't stop until he's mine."

**

* * *

**

Hmm... let's see. This one's even longer than the other one... and the scene in the classroom was almost as fun to write as the Jessica scene. Other than that I can't think of too much to say about this one, haha.

**Oh, and I just made up the character named Scott, he's not meant to be someone from the actual Twilight books… I just needed another hapless idiot for Harry to victimize XD The rest of the kids are Mike and his friends though.**

**I also got to write out the line how I'd _wanted _to in the description- 'then Edward _Fucking_ Cullen had to come and mess up everything he thought he knew', instead of Frikkin... but descriptions can't have stuff like that. So yeah.**

**What else... oh, I almost named this chapter "I Am Anyone You Want Me To Be" because of the part at the beginning where Harry discusses the difficulties he's had with his identity (Any of you know which Gaga song that's from? :P). Then I thought about naming it Poker Face, cause of the scene with the Legilimency. But finally the idea for the last little scene popped into my head, and I just had to have that line in there, hence the title you see now. Besides, it gave me a really good start for the next chapter, but you'll have to wait and see what I mean :D**

**I guess I had more to say then I'd thought, lol.**

**Anyways, I hope you guys liked it! Review if you did.**


	7. Stop Calling

**Hey you guys! I still can't thank you enough for all the reviews, faves, and alerts. Each one just makes my day that much better when I see it. You guys are awesome**

**I'm sorry for the wait, but I'll explain at the bottom why it took longer. In fact, most of the crap I have to say is at the bottom, so let's get right to it! I hope you guys like this chapter. It was a hard one to get out, actually. It's not my favorite, but it's necessary.**

**I don't own either of these stories.**

* * *

"_**Stop Calling, Stop Calling…"**_

* * *

"_I won't stop until he's mine." _

There was just one problem with that plan-

Harry had _no_ intention of letting it happen.

Though he may have once wanted to be as close to the Cullens as possible to distance himself from Jessica, Harry now knew just how dangerous that move would be; not because he was unsure of what they were- Harry knew he could hold his own against them, no matter their race- but because of an unstable, churning, hazardous new development he was only just starting to understand.

Edward.

The feelings that being in his presence generated- the explosive, untamed volitions his magic twisted into when the space between them got just the tiniest bit too small…

It wasn't safe. And Harry wasn't sure how much longer he could play with this fire.

The wizard slid his cell phone into his pocket after explaining to the secretary at the high school that he was suffering from a nasty cold and couldn't come in that day; a simple charm to change his voice to that of a stuffed up, miserable sounding version of itself had done the trick with ease. He stood up from his position sitting on the bed and stepped out into the hall, where he abruptly froze.

Why did it smell like someone was cooking?

More importantly, _why was someone in his house?_

Harry drew his wand from his pocket slowly as he took wary steps towards the stairs. Remembering that the third step down creaked, he was sure to bypass it.

With a stealthiness that would have made Sirius's Animagus form proud, Harry slipped down the remaining stairs and took the last few steps towards the kitchen, where he could hear the sounds of someone moving around.

Harry spun around the corner and through the doorway, his wand pointed forward and a curse already on the tip of his tongue.

Luna hummed lightly to herself from her position at the stove, and addressed Harry without taking her eyes from the pan in her hands.

"Do you still like your eggs scrambled, Harry?"

* * *

Alice's brow furrowed. She tried again, forcing herself to focus harder this time, but still nothing would come through the haze blocking her vision.

She'd been trying to see what Harry planned on doing that day, but every time she tried to see his future it would cloud over, refusing to show itself. What was more, attempts to see what the future held for her family in _relation_ to Harry- namely, how they would interact with him that day at school- were likewise hazy. It was rapidly becoming an aggravation.

She had already seen visions of Harry on more than one occasion, which meant that whatever he was, he wasn't impervious to her powers or something. But for some reason, just now, they refused to manifest.

Brow still furrowed, she wandered into the kitchen.

Esme looked over at her, smiling kindly. "Good morning, Alice."

Alice bit her lip, still trying to see Harry. Her "Morning, Esme," was reflexive, and didn't hold her normal enthusiasm, said more like an afterthought.

Esme raised an eyebrow at Alice's odd demeanor. It wasn't like her to look so concentrated and serious.

"Is something wrong, dear?"

Alice sat down, the look of confusion still painted across her features.

"Yes- well, probably not… I'm not actually sure…"

Esme took a seat across from Alice, drawing a glance from her confused daughter. She recognized the clouded look in her eyes that only ever appeared when a vision refused to show itself. Banking on this, she tried to draw her into discussing it.

"Who is it?"

Alice didn't even think to wonder how Esme had known what her concern had been. Instead, she drew herself away from her internal struggles to look her mother in the eyes properly before replying.

"Harry. And us, every time I try to see a vision with both us and him."

Esme mulled it over for a minute. "You've all said that he isn't a human- perhaps whatever he is, he is in some way immune to your power."

Alice shook her head. "No, I've had visions of him before- I just can't seem to make one happen on my own."

The sudden sound of someone storming down the stairs preempted the arrival of another member of the family- from the sounds of it, Alice knew it must be Rosalie. That also meant she knew exactly what part of the conversation had drawn her down here.

The previous day, after Harry had clearly been the cause of the boys' attack, Rosalie had tried to start up a conversation on just what kind of being Harry was in the car, but Alice had stopped her, saying they would talk about it tomorrow. Confused and a little pissed, Rosalie had pushed it for a second, but finally conceded.

Now, however, reminded by Esme's comment on what Harry may have been, she stormed into the kitchen, crossing her arms and leveling her gaze on Alice. Unfazed, the smaller girl just smiled at her until the other family members stepped in the room as well, drawn by her commotion.

"_Well?"_ She finally demanded pointedly. Alice's smile just spread.

"Well, _what_, Rosalie? Use your big girl words."

Rosalie fumed instantly, fury boiling just beneath the surface as the other members of the family suppressed their grins, in most cases failing.

"What _amazing _vision of yours made this wait till _now_?"

Alice smirked. "Who said I had a vision? I just wanted to wait till today."

Rosalie looked positively livid.

Alice laughed, quickly adding to her statement before her sister strangled her. "But either way, I wanted to wait till everyone was here, and Carlisle had to work late yesterday."

Rosalie scowled at her before muttering through gritted teeth. "We're vampires, Alice. It's not like we were asleep by the time he got home."

The pixie-like vampire just beamed even wider. "Discussions as serious as what species a person is deserve a more appropriate time than one in the morning."

Rosalie just growled, telling herself firmly that she had to keep Alice alive long enough to find out what Harry was. _Then_ she could kill her for being so maddening.

Jasper managed to head off the ensuing argument, choosing instead to actually start up the conversation Rosalie was fuming over.

"Whatever he is, he can somehow manipulate the environment around him. The scene in the cafeteria wasn't the first thing he'd done that day- he messed with some of those boys in first hour, too." His last words were accompanied by a smirk as he remembered the event.

Emmett cocked an eyebrow, smiling a little despite himself at the thought of what else the little guy had done to those pricks.

"What'd he do?"

Jasper noticed that Edward was pressing on his mind. Deciding to humor him, he offered up his memories of the encounter to him as he began to explain it to the others.

* * *

By the time he was done explaining, Emmett was laughing, most of the others looked amused, and Edward, though still furious at what the other kids had done, was pleased that Harry had enacted such humiliating revenge.

"That's _awesome!"_ Emmett managed to get out between booming laughs. "Who knew the little guy had it in him?"

Rosalie just rolled her eyes. "Amusing story aside, can we talk about the actual _issue_? You know, what this kid actually _is?_"

Edward turned to his father. "Any idea, Carlisle?"

The doctor rubbed his cheek idly, considering it.

"Well, from what you've described of what he _did_, I'd be inclined to think he was a mage, or a wizard, or something of the like- I've never met any, only heard of them, but I thought they required wands and incantations to do the things he did." He looked over at them thoughtfully. "He would seem to be something along those lines."

The rest of the family was quiet for a while after that, each considering it. Jasper finally broke the silence.

"Well, all I can say for him is that he's obviously powerful. But I don't necessarily think he's dangerous-" He hurriedly added, cutting off Rosalie's potential interruption. "- the only acts he's performed haven't done anything truly damaging, even when he was enacting revenge on those boys. And he seems nice enough."

"People can _seem_ like a lot of things…" Rosalie muttered.

Edward instantly started growling low in the back of his threat. Ever the arbiter, Carlisle headed their potential fight off before it could start.

"The main point behind all this, I'd say, is that whatever he is, Harry is Edward's mate. He obviously has certain abilities, just like we do, and he knows how to keep them in check. I think you all should get to know him a little better, and in time he'll tell us what he is, just like we'll tell him what _we_ are."

Rosalie stiffened a little at that, as did Edward, but they kept quiet. Instead, the conversation mostly at a close, each of the family members broke into their own personal talks, in Edward's case, one with Alice.

"Did you have any visions of what'll happen today?" He asked softly, his eyes flaring in a way Alice had only seen come out now that they knew Harry. It hurt her to have to change that, but she knew that, more than anything else, Edward deserved to know the truth. She bit her lip as she tried to answer.

"I… I can't get a vision of Harry for today, if that's what you mean."

Edward immediately frowned, and just as Alice had predicted, the flare went out.

"Nothing?"

She shook her head. "No. It's all too fuzzy."

"So what does that mean?"

She could only shrug. "I'm not sure… Maybe seeing him at school will help trigger one though, okay?" She tried to put a measure of confidence in her words, hoping they would placate Edward. All he did was nod however, before heading into the living room.

"Maybe…"

* * *

Edward stiffened slightly as they pulled into the parking lot. Harry's car wasn't in its normal spot, and a quick glance over the rest of the lot came up equally blank. This coupled with Alice's inability to get a vision of him was rapidly pushing him into a panic. What if something had happened?

Jasper quickly picked up on the convoluted emotions seeping out of Edward. He did his best to project more calm ones onto him as he spoke.

"I'm sure it's fine, Edward. If something bad happened, Alice would have seen it."

Alice smiled over at him. "Yeah- he's probably just not here yet, or not coming to school today."

Edward just frowned, looking particularly upset. Alice suddenly spoke up again as a vision came to her.

"And you are _not_ going to skip school to see if he's at home! I'm sure he is."

He glared over at her. "How can you be sure, when you can't even get a vision of him?"

She huffed out a breath before turning to open the door. So maybe she didn't for _sure_- but she was relatively convinced that if something truly bad had happened she would know- she had seen the result of the gym fight, after all.

"I just know, okay?"

Edward scoffed before pushing open the door on his side of the car and stepping out into the humid air. His eyes flitted in the direction that he knew Harry's house lay, idly wondering how long it would take him to run there.

Just as he was settling on the number of minutes, something solid slammed his right shoulder with an odd amount of force; when he cast a glance over, he realized it was Rosalie's left shoulder as she had walked past him. She now turned just enough to make eye contact without stopping.

"Your human will be fine, Edward. Now come on."

He frowned at her, but somehow his cynical sister's words more than anyone else's managed to talk him into letting the situation lie for now. Grumbling about it in his mind the whole way, he begrudgingly followed his siblings onto the campus.

* * *

"Luna, what are you doing here?" Harry managed to finally voice as he was pushed towards a seat at the table and offered a steaming plate. The blonde then set a fork in front of him and skipped over to the refrigerator to pour him a drink before finally turning to answer.

"I'm not really sure." She said with a placid smile, her eyes oddly unfocused as she poured the milk into a cup without looking down at it. Harry was getting increasingly concerned as the liquid climbed higher and higher, but she stopped the flow just before it crested the top, still without taking her eyes off Harry- or his general area anyway… it was never quite clear if Luna was looking _at_ you, or almost _through_ you, after all. She put away the milk and set the glass in front of him before hopping up to sit on the counter across from the table. Her feet dangled down and kicked out softly at random intervals.

"As I was walking past the fireplace in my father's house, I think I must have tripped on a Nargle-" Her eyes suddenly focused as she looked at Harry with almost comical seriousness- "They're very bad about that, you know-" Before her eyes resumed their previous look of idle intangibility. "And in doing so, knocked over the stand the Floo powder is set on. A handful must have fallen into the fire, because it turned green just as I, too, fell into the fireplace." She smiled at him dreamily. "Your home was the first thing that came to mind." Luna then let her gaze drift over to the window, where rain was now tapping against lightly. "… It was a rather odd chain of events, come to think of it."

She turned back with a smile. Apparently it wasn't odd enough to distract her for long.

"Are the eggs good? It's been a while since I made any."

Harry stared at her for a full ten seconds, trying to get his mind around what she had just said. For her part, Luna just smiled at him like normal until he finally could summon words. Choosing to skip over the odd circumstances of her arrival- it was often best, when dealing with the absurd coincidences and events that happened around Luna- he answered the question.

"They're, uh, great, Luna. Thank you."

Her smile grew wider. "You're welcome. And how are the Cullens?"

Harry nodded his head as he picked up his glass of milk. "They're good, as far as I kno-"

He suddenly stopped just as the glass reached his lips. Luna just continued to smile as he slowly set it down in his confusion.

How did she _always_ know _everything?_

Harry's brow furrowed, as he idly rubbed his temple. "I don't suppose I should ask how you know who the Cullens are?"

Luna again looked out the window, her feet continuing to kick out. "I did some research on the area before I sent you here." She re-established eye contact, looking a bit more grounded than normal. "I thought that being around magical beings might be of some help."

Harry nodded slightly, though he wasn't entirely sure of her reasoning. "So they _are_ magical, then?"

Luna nodded vigorously, her eyes shining as she did. "Oh yes- they're…"

Harry put up both his hands as if that would stop her. "No no no! I don't wanna know, not yet!"

Luna abruptly cut herself off before smiling again. "You want them to tell you?"

Harry didn't think to question how Luna had instantly made that connection. It was so common for her that it hardly seemed out of the norm.

He looked down at his hands, now resting in his lap. "I… I want them to trust me with it."

When he finally looked up, it was to see Luna still looking at him with the same small, knowing smile that seemed almost permanently plastered to her face when she was around him. Her voice was confident when she replied.

"It'll be good for you when you find out, Harry. It will help you."

Harry's brow furrowed again, more confused than ever, but Luna simply hopped down from the counter and sat down at the seat across from him. She leaned forward and borrowed his fork before helping herself to some of his eggs.

Knowing that she couldn't have elaborated even if she had wanted to, Harry chose not to question Luna on her previous statement. Instead, he turned to a question he hadn't thought much of until her arrival.

"How are things back in England? Everyone alright?"

Luna set down the glass of milk she had likewise had some of before replying. "They're rebuilding. It's going well- with the Dark Lord gone, the Ministry has plenty of time to devote to the process. There are a few reports of rogue Death Eaters, but most of them were killed or captured that night." Harry stiffened slightly at its mention, but after a pause Luna continued. "Neville's doing well. Perhaps next time he can fall into the fireplace as well, then we can all talk together!" She added excitedly. Harry chuckled slightly.

It was good to have Luna back, even if only for a while.

* * *

Edward gripped the edge of the lunch table firmly, noting with only a passing interest that it was threatening to crack under his grasp. He really couldn't care less.

Edward wanted Harry.

Harry wasn't here.

Edward was pissed.

Jasper was doing his best to take the edge off his aggravation and concern, but the telepathic vampire's emotions were at such a fever pitch that his brother could have little effect. He decided to try to talk him down instead.

_Edward, you've got to calm down. You'll see Harry soon enough, him not being at school __**one **__day isn't the end of the world._

He glared over at Jasper in abject annoyance, to which Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"Can we have a little less teenage angst, please?" She leveled her gaze on him. "You're a few decades too old for that, wouldn't you say?" She snapped sharply.

Jasper's gaze quickly flashed between the two of them as Edward's latent fury suddenly erupted to the surface.

His voice was steely, though barely contained when he growled out a response.

"You have _no_ idea what I'm going through Rosalie, so don't _flatter_ yourself by thinking you're better than I am." He spat out viciously, savoring the way the words and his venom burned his throat.

The blonde's eyes narrowed slightly as she crossed her arms. Jasper, Emmett, and Alice all exchanged glances as they could feel the tension solidify between the siblings.

"I have a mate too, Edward. I _do_ know what you're going through, no matter how much you want to play the tortured, misunderstood loner."

Edward's nostrils flared as he struggled to stay controlled, an effort that was rapidly failing.

"Emmett was practically _handed_ to you, you _self-righteous, egocentric-"_

Rosalie abruptly tried to cut him off.

"Just because _you_ have to deal with-"

Unfazed, Edward stormed on without pause.

"No fucking clue what I-"

"It's not _my_ fault your mate-"

"You can just shove your damn pompousness up-"

"Don't you _dare_ try to talk to me like that-"

Before long their words were running over each other so much that there was no way either was truly hearing what the other was saying, but that hardly seemed to dissuade either of them. Nearby tables were slowly starting to look over as the two forgot to keep their voices low, allowing the humans' ears to pick up on parts of their argument.

Alice's eyes suddenly focused back in as she pulled out of a vision. She looked at Jasper, looking more concerned than she had in quite a while.

"Jasper…" She muttered, but he was forced to look at her helplessly.

"I tried, but I can't hold down their emotions, they're too strong-"

She shook her head violently, sparing a glance to the tables that were starting to look over.

"I know, but if you don't do something, they're going to start fighting. Physically." She gripped his arm tightly. "_Here, in front of everyone._"

Images of Rosalie slamming into Edward and throwing him into other students flared across her memories, followed by ones of Edward smashing her through one of the cafeteria walls. She couldn't let that vision come true, or everything would be ruined.

"We need a distraction." Her eyebrow rose, hoping Jasper would catch her meaning.

He considered it for a moment before nodding. If they couldn't calm those two down, they'd just have to make everyone else as upset as they were.

This was about to get interesting, fast.

Waves of hatred, anger, malice, aggravation, and every other sour emotion Jasper could drag upwards suddenly began to pulse through the rest of the cafeteria. The students immediately responded, their own voices, now tainted with shouts of distaste and irritation, rising to a volume that easily drowned out Edward and Rosalie's.

Former friends now glared at each other hatefully, every secret frustration within them bubbling up to the surface in milliseconds. Glares quickly turned to insults, insults to shouts.

Within seconds the lunch room exploded into a manufactured riot, with fists flying and people falling left and right. Knowing it couldn't hold forever, Jasper and Alice each grabbed one of Edward's arms as Emmett took hold of Rosalie. Both struggled pointedly, but they were overpowered long enough for the five vampires to push their way out of the cafeteria and into the humid air.

Rosalie and Edward continued to toss insults at one another until Alice finally released her frustration on them.

"_Enough! Both_ of you! You're acting like newborns, and you almost just blew our cover!"

The two feuding siblings finally snapped their mouths shut at that.

Alice's eyes flared an unfamiliar, furious gold.

"You're _both_ being self-centered." She suddenly stabbed an accusatory finger at her sister, who actually flinched. "Rosalie, Edward is dealing with problems _none_ of us can truly relate to, so give the _bitch_ fest a rest." She then rounded on her brother. "And you! We're not the enemy here, we're your _family_. So snap out of your pity party and _talk_ to us so we can help you!"

The other vampires, even Emmett and Jasper, just stood there blinking for a moment as they tried to get their mind around the uncharacteristic explosion that had just occurred. Alice just crossed her arms, looking relatively satisfied. Until they continued to be silent, that is.

"Well? _Say_ something!" She finally said, the irritation creeping back into her voice.

Edward glanced over at Rosalie. Now that his anger had had a chance to ebb, he _supposed _he could see her side of things. His pride stinging a bit, he muttered out the only thing he could think to say.

"'M sorry, Rose."

The blonde continued to look only at the ground. Finally she opened her mouth, struggling to find the words. When they eventually stumbled out, she found the taste they left behind made her feel slightly sick.

"I'm… _sorry_ too, Edward."

Alice finally smiled again. "That's better." The bell abruptly rang just as she spoke. Their small family emergency mostly behind them for now, they each prepared to head back to class.

* * *

"So how are things between you and Edward?" Luna asked after a moment, her large eyes finally focusing in on Harry's face again.

The wizard froze for a second, his brain furiously trying to come up with a non-incriminating response in the short time it had.

It failed.

"Um… what?" He muttered lamely, praying that the moment it would take Luna to repeat her question would somehow give his thoughts time to kick into action.

Luna just continued to smile for her part, more than likely knowing full well that Harry was just avoiding the question. Then again, with Luna you could never tell.

"Edward, the youngest-looking of the Cullens." _Youngest __**looking? **__What?_ "How are things between the two of you?"

Harry audibly gulped as he realized his brain had again failed him.

"We're… um… fine. Why, uh- why do you ask?"

Luna smirked at him wryly before again looking out the window.

"Just a feeling." She abruptly turned back to face him, smiling fully again. "You two will be even more 'fine' soon."

Harry rubbed his arm in a mixture of embarrassment and anxiety. When he looked up at her his emerald eyes were burning with a vulnerability he rarely showed.

"I almost made us… more 'fine' yesterday." He quickly looked away, even as he struggled for more words. "He…" Harry sighed. "He does things to me- things I've never felt before." The wizard bit his lip, while Luna just continued to look at him with a slight smile, encouraging him to continue.

"I… _like_ feeling 'fine' around him. And I want to feel _more_ 'fine', but- I…"

Luna set a small hand over his, and the physical contact allowed his mind to push out the rest of his thoughts.

"I'm scared." He glanced up at her, but he didn't see the things he knew almost anyone else from his old world would have done. The shock, that after seeing and doing so much, Harry could be scared of something so small- the pity that he hadn't had to deal with these sort of feelings till now- in some cases, disgust that those feelings were towards another guy.

He could always trust Luna to defy those norms. That fact alone allowed him to continue.

"Edward sparks responses in me that I'd never imagined were possible for me. And unless I'm really that bad at reading people, I'm pretty sure I do the same to him." He paused, mulling it over for a moment. "But these feelings… these things I do when I'm near him… they're just so _strong_." He let out a small sigh of frustration. "Too strong for me to control, or to ignore… For long, anyway."

Luna nodded in understanding. "Is that why you're home today?"

Harry frowned. "Yeah… I just needed some time to process all this." Then, after a taut pause, he conceded, "I almost kissed him last night." He chanced a fearful glance upwards again, but saw Luna to be just as calm and open as ever. Taking in a shaky breath, he continued. "His scent especially affects me- so when I was too close to him in the car last night, I just sort of zoned out… the next thing I knew, my lips were almost touching his cheek." A sudden thought occurred to him. "Does part of these effects have to do with what he is?"

Luna suddenly grinned, nodding vigorously. "Oh yes. Definitely."

Harry nodded back. "Ok, good. So it's not just my body going completely crazy just 'cause I'm finally attracted to someone."

"No, though it's happening because of what _you_ are too, to some extent." Luna replied, her eyes returning to their less focused, natural state.

Harry cocked his head. "Whattya mean?"

She pushed a strand of blond hair falling into her face backwards as she elaborated. "Your magic wants Edward as much as you do, but it doesn't have your reservations. I'd imagine it's already reached for him."

Harry nodded slightly, remembering the time in Biology when it had tried to clutch the two of them together.

Luna's eyes had returned to their uncharacteristic look of seriousness when he again looked at them.

"Then you should know, Harry, that this isn't something to be played with. If your magic wants him, then he is the one you need- everyone needs some space sometimes, but be sure you don't push him too far away to get it." Her smile had faded. "You'll only hurt both of you."

Harry tried to consider her oddly serious and informative words, but the blonde suddenly looked straight up with a small gasp. Before he could even ask just what was going on, she had looked back down, her eyes wide.

"Nargles, Harry!" She glanced over suspiciously, looking from side to side. "They must have followed me here…"

She was immediately out of her seat, and pulling Harry up from his chair as well. The quirky witch then dragged him from the kitchen, taking him haltingly into the living room, all the while explaining just why it was so imperative that the Nargles be expelled.

"In your current situation, the last thing you need is for your mind to go all fuzzy! When I Floo back to father's house it should take them with me, since they followed me the first time…"

Harry's mouth was open, trying to think of how to respond, and again, failing miserably. As such he was unable to question her logic as she pulled him towards the fireplace, a handful of Floo powder clutched in her fist (_Where did she get that?)._

In a goodbye nearly as abrupt as the last one, the fire abruptly roared green for a moment as Luna spun around just in time to kiss him on the cheek and happily add "Maybe I'll fall into a fireplace again soon! Goodbye, Harry," before disappearing into the jade flames.

The wizard stood in front of the now empty fireplace trying to process just what in hell had happened in that last minute or so, his mouth still slack. When no conclusions came to mind, he again cursed his brain for its idiocy before sinking into a chair and staring out at the rain hitting his window, a hand twisted up in his hair.

* * *

Edward hadn't scowled this much in a long time.

Throughout the entire day following lunch, he had had the look of distaste plastered across his face, and nothing his sibling had been able to say had lessened it in any way.

Harry wasn't here.

Yesterday, he had said he wouldn't stop until Harry was his. Today it seemed fate was out to screw him over in that respect.

After a painfully long day of school, Edward had decided to go to Harry's house to finally see him. Unfortunately, Alice's words and (arguably more importantly) Emmett and Jasper's strength had kept him from doing so, insisting he come home and give Harry whatever space he may need for the moment. The idea didn't sit well with him, but when four vampires make a decision, it's remarkably difficult to oppose, even if you yourself are a vampire as well.

His aggravated silence was finally broken when they pulled into the driveway, his voice resuming that barely checked tone that had so recently been shattered by Rosalie.

"He's _my_ mate, you know. I should be able to check on him if _I_ want to."

Alice gritted her teeth and put a hand to her temple.

"Edward, we talked about this. Not seeing him for _one day_ is not that unbearable. He stayed home for a reason. Can't you respect that?"

The vampire slammed the car door with unchecked force as he growled out a response.

"I'd be more willing to _respect_ his reasons if I knew what they were." He glared over at her. "I'm still not willing to believe he might not be hurt, what with your visions being so _useless_." He spat, again enjoying the sting they caused as he spoke the words.

Alice huffed out a breath of frustration, but refused to give him the satisfaction of appearing truly affected by his thinly veiled insult. Instead, she simply walked into the house, trusting the others would follow. They did, though Edward was last and did so begrudgingly.

* * *

The telepathic vampire hurried up to his own room, not wishing to deal with the tiring antics of his happy, mated family members. No matter what they said, they couldn't really understand his situation- none of theirs had been anywhere near as complicated. He sat in front of the glass part of his room, staring out at the rain and hoping it could somehow quell the roiling emotions inside.

He knew that they were right, and that he should just give Harry his time and space, whatever his reasons, but he just couldn't bring himself to _want_ to. What he _wanted_ was his mate. Here. In his arms. And he didn't want anyone to be able to put space between him and Harry again, not even Harry himself.

But these emotions were just so raw, and untamed, and Edward knew it wasn't his right to be feeling them right now before Harry understood just what their relationship was, and would be.

It hurt him, stabbed at every one of his insecurities, and was as unrelenting as the storm currently lording over Forks. He didn't know how much longer he could take not being near Harry, but was likewise scared of just how forcefully he would respond when he finally saw him again.

Edward heard the door open and close softly behind him, and knew it was Rosalie. He closed his eyes and sighed, resigned for another argument, when he felt her sit down lightly beside him without looking over.

After nearly a minute of silence between the two of them, the blonde vampire spoke.

"He obviously has a lot to work through right now. Just give him his space, Edward. At least for now."

Edward suppressed his surprise at her oddly soft words, instead choosing to express the burning, seething desire stabbing at him from the inside in the only way he could.

"But I _need_ him, Rose." He looked away, biting his lip. "I-I mean I at least need to _talk _to him, even if just to know he's okay."

She glanced over at him, finally seeing the fire in his amber eyes that had so long been watered down, pushed away because there was no one there to drag it to the surface. It warmed her frozen heart to see it.

"Then call him." She looked at him pointedly, raising a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "But don't go running over there if he doesn't answer. If he wants to talk, then he will. If not, then you'll just have to wait."

Unfortunately, decades of life had taught Edward anything but patience- not when it came to this, anyway. But he looked over at his phone, as if seeing it for the first time. How had he not thought of that?

Rosalie finally stood, pausing a moment while she was still beside him. She quickly leaned back down, squeezing Edward's upper body in a short, tight embrace. "You're my brother, and I love you. Just know that I'm here for you, alright?" Without waiting for a response she stood back up and headed for the door. Edward's voice stopped her just as she stepped into the hallway.

"Rosalie?"

She turned to see Edward standing by the couch, his cell phone now clutched in his right hand.

"Yeah?"

He looked down at his phone for a moment, then looked back up.

"Thanks."

Rosalie gave him a small, rare smile as she stepped out the door.

* * *

Edward's fingers swept over the screen of his phone, opening his contact list and selecting "Harry" in record time. He then pressed down the send button, praying that his mate would actually answer.

* * *

Harry was suddenly knocked from his complacency in his chair by the sound of his phone ringing loudly.

_Odd… no one really knows my numbe-_

…_Fuck._

Edward. He was the only one who would be calling.

Harry pushed himself to his feet, deciding he would have to check just in case. But sure enough, as he turned the screen of his phone to face him, it displayed words that made his stomach tighten.

_**Call From: Edward**_

Harry bit his lip. He knew that he really should answer- explain what was going on. But he just couldn't find the strength to, not when his time at home had only served to complicate things, not make them simpler.

Hoping Edward would only call the one time, the wizard set the phone on the table in the living room as he again sunk into the chair.

* * *

Edward felt like his chest was going to implode when he finally heard Harry's voice, but his excitement immediately plummeted when he realized it was just his voicemail recording.

"Hey, this is Harry. I'm sorry I couldn't come to the phone right now, but leave me a message and I'll get back to you. Thanks!"

Just as the beep was about to go off, Edward ended the call. He didn't feel like leaving a message. But as Harry was about to find out, that definitely _didn't_ mean he was done calling.

* * *

Harry slammed his face into his hands as his phone cranked out its painfully simplistic ring tone yet again, the sixth time in a row. He had tried to turn it to vibrate, but Edward's calls were so close to each other that he didn't have time to before a new one would cut off his progress, as his phone didn't have an "ignore call" function. What was worse, every time he tried to cast a muffling charm over either the phone or himself, his magic would somehow refuse to obey him, whether the incantation was spoken or not, performed with or without a wand. Maddeningly, other spells worked, so he knew his magic was somehow _only_ blocking this from him.

* * *

The fear that he knew should have been rising refused to make itself known to Edward for some reason. He knew that, theoretically, the idea of Harry not answering after so many calls should have terrified him- was he too incapacitated to answer? But somehow every part of his instincts screamed to him that it was sheer determination, and not inability that was keeping Harry from answering, and that suited Edward just fine.

He would just have to show him how determined a _vampire_ could be.

* * *

Harry looked down at his cell phone with the purest hatred he had felt in quite a while. It was taunting him, constantly giving him the option to answer but knowing he was too scared to take it. Somehow the technology must be enjoying its sick little game, Harry was sure of that much.

_Stop calling… Stop calling…_

His silent chant of prayer was apparently as ineffective as his magic at the job, because his phone just sat there, continuing to ring its head off. And as much as Harry wanted to just walk away from it, he found he couldn't force himself to.

But after nearly an hour of nonstop ringing, the sound of Edward's calls were about to drive the young wizard to insanity. He twisted his hand up into his hair, knowing this headache wasn't fading anytime soon. He squeezed his eyes shut, unable to care if he was making the right decision or not as he finally reached forward and scooped up the phone, flipping it open and pressing it to his ear.

"_What?"_

The sheer aggravation-bordering-on-pain in his voice was quite possibly the reason Edward paused before speaking, despite having rehearsed what he would say so many times before.

"Harry? Are you alright? Are you ok?"

The wizard could easily hear the concern and worry in Edward's voice, but at the moment he was struggling to care. With his emotions trapped in some internal maelstrom, all it really left room for was the agitation- that is, of course, unless he wanted to quite possibly end up spilling out all of his tangled feelings to Edward over a phone call.

"If I tell you to just come over already, will you stop calling me?"

Harry found his own forcefulness surprising, but not nearly so much as his actual words- what in god's name was he supposed to do with Edward in his _house?_

The voice on the other end paused again before speaking, obviously confused by the sudden course of the conversation.

"I- uh, well, yes…"

"Good. Then get over here." Harry abruptly snapped his phone shut, ending the call.

He soon realized that doing so was only _beginning_ his problems, however.

He threw the phone against the wall as hard as he could, but he knew the _P__rotego _his body cast against his will would keep it from being harmed. He sunk back into the chair, again fisting his hair in frustration.

"_Fuck!"_

When had _everything_ he knew gotten so complicated?

**

* * *

**

So this one's not quite as long as the last one, and ends a bit cliffhangar-y, what with the impending conversation. But for the sake of the titles, it made sense to stop this one here.

**Oh, and as for the whole Harry's magic acting on its own- I figure that since finding his mate is stirring up Edward's inner vampire/beast, it would do a similar thing to Harry- in his case, his magic. Like Luna said, it wants Edward and isn't as reserved as Harry's mind is, so it will act out when it thinks it has a chance to bring them closer together, be that literally physically closer like it did in Bio, or more subtly, like by defending the cell phone. Hope that clarifies my intentions in that respect.**

**Also, as for taking longer than previously to put this chapter up, I had a **_**lot**_** of summer work I was supposed to be doing that I'd ignored till now… a week before school starts. So it was taking up a lot of time. That being said, I still have more to do, and then school is gonna be starting up, but once everything settles a bit, I'll have the next chapter up, I promise. And just to give you something to mull over until then, I decided I'd tell you the title for the next chapter- "I Don't Belong To You".**

**Dun Dun DUN!**

**Lol. Anyway, hope ya liked it, even though it was a bit shorter, and the next one'll have more interaction between Edward and Harry. Reviews are the elixir of life!**


	8. I Don't Belong To You

**So first off, I just wanna give a huge apology for making you guys wait this long. Like I said, school was a big factor in that (as well as a bad case of writer's block), but excuses don't really mean much, so suffice it to, I'm sorry. And I'd still like to thank all of you who have alerted, faved, or reviewed. I really appreciate all of them, especially since this one sat around with no update for a while. But have no fear, I don't intend on abandoning this story, since I hate it when other authors do that.**

**I hope you guys like this chapter- good things happen in it, even though it is short. **

* * *

"_**I Don't Belong To You"**_

* * *

Edward was down the stairs in seconds, pausing only long enough to grab keys and call out "I'm going to Harry's!" before bolting out the door and throwing himself into the driver's seat of his Volvo.

Gravel flew as the tires dug in and he spun the car around. He then slammed down on the gas, sending it roaring down the driveway.

Harry wanted him to come over.

Edward wasn't one to keep Harry waiting.

* * *

Harry groaned, banging his head lightly against the wall.

_What did I just get myself into?_

This was getting out of hand. It was obvious that his attempt at isolating himself for a day had failed. Miserably. First Luna had come (and though he loved her and her impromptu visit, she had done little to help his confusion- really, she had made it worse), and now he had just invited over the very reason for his roiling internal struggles. If anyone had ever tried to call him a smart, rational thinker he challenged them to take a look at the cyclonic conflagration he had just thrown himself into. The wizard pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, relishing the stars that exploded in front of his eyes at the motion. They helped to clear his head a bit as he pushed himself up from his seat.

It didn't matter _why_ he had invited Edward over- only that he _had_. He let his body go into autopilot, heading over to mindlessly pick up the phone he had thrown across the room and straighten a few things as a silent battle erupted in his mind.

_I don't know how I can be this stupid._

_Because you like him._

_I don't want to like him._

_You almost __**kissed**__ him!_

_That was __**not**__ by choice. _

_Interesting trick, seeing as __**you**__ were the one initiating contact…_

_Hey! Something about his scent sent me into a haze. Maybe if my own magic wasn't trying to __**betray**__ me in this…_

_Don't drag your magic into this. It just happens to have more of a brain than you do._

_Oh, shut up. I'm busy._

_Incredibly busy. Moving the pillow on that couch for the third time must be truly taxing…_

Harry scowled. He never liked his voice of reason. It always made too much sense, which usually just made his head hurt since it wasn't what he wanted to hear.

He glanced over at the clock on the wall. It had been two minutes since he had hung up, and if his previous notions of Edward were anything to go by, he was sure he had left almost the instant the call ended. That gave him about four or five more minutes till he got here- their houses were pretty close to one another.

Ignoring the gnawing, burning feeling in the pit of his stomach as best as he could, he wandered into the kitchen to search for something to calm his nerves. He found himself wishing he had butterbeer.

This soda- _Peh-p-see?- _would have to do it in the meantime, seeing as he hadn't been in any position to bring any of the wizarding drink with him when Luna sent him here. He pulled it from the refrigerator, popped the top open, and raised it to his lips.

_Ding dong!_

The small amount of soda he had managed to take into his mouth was suddenly shot out forcefully onto the floor as he choked.

_How did he get here that fast?_

Harry's hand trembled as he sought to set the can down on the table. He cast a quick charm to clean up the mess on the floor, noticing only dimly that in his anxiety he had inadvertently also turned that tile bright pink. The swarm in his stomach rose up, happy to have another reason to cause him distress as he stepped back out into the living room.

Maybe it wasn't him. Yeah- maybe it was a girl scout, or some nice Mormon kid wanting to know if he had accepted Jesus. He stepped forward, his hand pausing only briefly on the handle before turning it and swinging the door open.

And, then again, maybe he should just get a clue.

He couldn't find the strength to be surprised that, no, it wasn't a cookie bearing fourth-grader or a person worried for his eternal soul. At least he didn't _think_ Edward cared about his eternal soul- but with him, you never really knew. In most of their interactions, he had confused Harry. It stood to reason that he could be wrong about everything about him now.

He snapped out of his mental wanderings when Edward took a small step forward, his concern obvious when he spoke. "Harry?"

Something fluttered again in his stomach.

_It's nice, the way he says your name…_

_I thought I told you to shut up?_

He turned away, not liking the odd tingling sensation he got when he looked in those golden eyes for too long. His voice was begrudging as he stepped back into the room, calling over his shoulder, "Come in, Edward."

That hardly seemed to bother him, though, as he swept in with his usual grace and closed the door softly. Harry stepped into the kitchen, grabbed his Pepsi and walked back into the living room.

"Want something to drink?"

The request came from his mouth without him really bidding it- it seemed out of place considering the oddity of this meeting. Edward responded in turn, however.

"No, but thank you."

Harry stood there for a moment awkwardly, his foot tapping lightly and his free hand fidgeting with the tab on the top of the soda, before finally raising the can to his lips.

Edward chose that moment to break his own reciprocal awkward silence.

"I- I know I asked on the phone, but… are you okay, Harry?"

The wizard found himself rolling his eyes despite himself, and he set down his Pepsi before continuing.

"Yes, Edward, I'm fine, I promise. I was just taking a day off. Wanted to sort out some stuff."

A perfectly sculpted eyebrow rose on the flawless face staring at him from across the coffee table.

"What _stuff?"_

Harry felt color rising to his cheeks, and his gritted his teeth to try and ignore it, biting out a reply.

"_Personal_ stuff."

A look of irritation brinking on anger that Harry had never before seen from Edward now painted his face as he crossed his arms.

"It's not 'sorting out stuff'. You're hiding away from something."

The words were spoken with a force and assurance that caught him off guard. Harry's brow furrowed. Since when was Edward so sure of himself, especially in something about Harry? He tried to pull this conversation back under his control. He scoffed dismissively.

"From what, school? I don't have anything to hide away from there, not now." That much was true at least.

Edward huffed out a breath, the frown showing more clearly as his eyes seemed to glow a little brighter in the lighting. "Then maybe you're hiding away from some_one_."

Damn it. No denying that one without lying.

Choosing to go on the defensive, Harry crossed his arms, adopting a look of distaste he had often seen on Malfoy's face. _At least the little shit was good for __**something**__…_

"Who, then? Since you seem to know so much about _my_ reasons for things."

Something danced in Edward's eyes as the slightest of implied smiles touched his lips. Something that looked almost… hungry.

Predatory.

"Well, there are only a few people it _could _be really- you don't know many people here." His arms uncrossed, and he took a small step from behind the table. "Can't be Jessica. I doubt it's her band of defenders, either." A smirk tugged at one side of his lips. "You saw that they were taken care of, after all." Harry didn't have time to think of how Edward had known it was him as the larger boy had just taken another step forward, causing something disconcerting to swirl in his chest.

Edward's voice was changing in pitch, taking on an air Harry had never heard before. It was frighteningly (and enticingly) low, so personal that it caused Harry to take a half step backwards.

"That really only leaves my family." Edward added, his finger lightly swirling the top of the Pepsi can that was now, thanks to his new position beside the coffee table, right next to him. "You don't consider Alice or Jasper threatening, so it can't be them." Edward's other index finger lightly rubbed his bottom lip, as if he was truly having to think this over, and wasn't just toying with Harry.

Where had self-conscious, nervous Edward gone? This new, more confident person in front of him could only be compared to how he had behaved at moments when it seemed his control had broken, like the time he had been on top of him at school. That he was acting like that now sent chills up the wizard's body, but he blinked heavily when he realized he kinda liked the feeling.

_Not. Safe._

"Emmett is strong, but you've had no reason to fear him." Edward's eyes sparkled in the light again and he took another step forward. "And Rosalie- she's dismissive, but you hardly seem the kind to care about that sort of thing."

Harry squeezed his fist tightly, determined not to surrender more ground but feeling true, all encompassing insecurity as Edward drew still closer. He wasn't used to this- any of this. _Why_ had he of all people been put in a situation like this?

_Oh yeah- cause you're an __**idiot **__and __**invited**__ him over!_

Though there was still quite a bit of space between them, Harry felt as if something was pressing on him, denying him breath when Edward next spoke.

"So that really just leaves _me._" The smirk grew, and it just wasn't _fair_, the way Edward was standing there, looking far too attractive in that tight grey shirt and black pants to be standing in Harry's house and saying these sorts of confusing things to him. "Now, why would you be afraid of me, Harry?"

Damn him and his smirking, the way his smile pulled a little wider, the way there was always some easily-read emotion in those unnatural and too-appealing colored eyes. Harry wouldn't give him the answer he wanted. He wouldn't hand over control that easily.

He knew the mask of indifference he assembled was cracked, that there were flaws in it that he was sure Edward would pick up with his keen sight. But that hardly stopped the wizard from using it anyway.

"There isn't a reason. That's why I'm _not_."

The slight shake in his voice should have been obvious, but his words seemed to have as much impact as if his poker face had been flawless.

The smile disappeared on Edward's face, replaced by a frown. His arms crossed again, and it seemed as if they had just jumped back in time to their old positions and expressions.

"Whether it's me or not, you _are_ hiding away, and you know it. Why are you trying to be some recluse?"

Harry felt his mouth open in shock. "_Recluse?_ It was _one_ day, Edward!"

Edward looked at him seemingly with complete assurance of the truth of his own words. "It's enough." His voice was firm, tightly controlled. In this, it seemed there would be no swaying him.

Harry said the only thing that could come to mind.

"You're insane."

Not the best reply he'd ever formulated, but he was sure if this was the old Edward, it would have at least affected him enough to make him pause.

But this _wasn't_ the old Edward. This one was on a mission and was hell-bent on completing it, no matter how roundabout a fashion it would require.

"When it comes to you, yes, I guess I am."

_What?_ For all their oddly close contacts they'd had over the past few days- for all the feelings he ignited within Harry's inexperienced heart- a statement that personal, that intimate just didn't make sense. Harry decided to mostly avoid that comment as a result.

"Look Edward, it was one day. And it's not your concern what I do- I don't belong to you."

A growl abruptly pierced the shadowed room as Edward slowly advanced on Harry.

_Shit._

That was definitely _not_ what he had intended.

Something locked in the wizard's throat, and he instantly regretted his choice of words as he backed away just as slowly, trying desperately to maintain the distance.

* * *

Harry didn't think he belonged to Edward.

Edward was determined to prove him wrong.

Warning bells were exploding in the back of his mind, telling him to ignore the monster inside that he had given free reign over almost this entire exchange, but he disregarded them. He would stand by his promise. He wouldn't hurt Harry- He would never do that. But it was time that beautiful little bundle of confusion and anxiety in front of him understood just what he meant to Edward.

Harry was _really_ cute when he was scared.

* * *

Edward didn't really seem in the mood for conversation any more. Especially if that growling was anything to go by. Deep breaths pulled that grey shirt even tighter with every inhale, stretching it across his chest in a way that was distracting Harry at a time when he really needed to concentrate on backing up. There was just one problem with that, though.

With two more steps, Harry found his back pressed against the wall dividing the living room and kitchen. He had nowhere to go, and Edward looked about as receptive to stopping as he was talking.

Those eyes bore into him, challenging him to move and knowing he couldn't. Something stirred again in Harry's chest and he found his already tight pants getting tighter despite himself.

This was bad.

Knowing he had only a second or so to do something if he intended on resisting, the wizard did the only thing he could think of- he tried to cast Protego around himself to hold Edward off.

The spell that came out was anything but a shield charm.

An invisible hand suddenly fisted the front of Edward's shirt before dragging him forward with lightning speed. His arms landed heavily against the wall on either side of Harry's head, fencing him in completely with his body.

If Harry hadn't been so terrifyingly breathless, he might have sighed.

This was it. His magic had done it now. It had somehow teamed up with the animal in Edward to thrust the two of them together so firmly that no physical distance Harry could erect would be enough.

He took in a desperate breath, not thinking as he dragged Edward's warm smell deep into his lungs.

In an instant, the wizard's body had exploded into paradox; he was suddenly out of breath but simultaneously roiling with energy; parts of his body were flushing with heat, like his face, but other parts were shuddering as if cold. Some parts were throbbing, others languid and unresponsive (namely, his legs).

His knees abruptly went out, and as his left hand gripped Edward's shoulder, his right grabbed the closest thing they could find- Edward's hair. His body pitched forward, but with another low growl a chest as firm as the wall behind him was pressing into his own, holding him in place.

Amber. Swirling, fluxing, boiling. It was all he could see now that they were so close.

Eyes weren't supposed to be able to do that, Harry knew. But all his useless, idle thoughts plummeted to inexistence as he felt that warm breath mingling with his own, the strength in the taut body before him, that deliciously cold skin pressing against his, holding him and taunting him and pushing his nerve endings to the barren edge of constraint.

He was sure the tightness in his chest was about to explode when he finally, mercifully felt that firm contact on his lips. That desperate but gentle touch that, more than anything else had, showed him that Edward was aching just as much as he was.

The warm, succulent taste that finally hit his tongue as his lips were pried apart was more than he could have ever given credit to in his dreams. It was an ecstasy in its strength, a misery in its reserve, and in all things, luscious. A burn that you didn't want to ease, but fuel until it raged so hard it was all you could do to see through the red and the heat. Harry arched his back, pushing himself firmly into that hard body in front of him, his fingers twisting in Edward's hair and pulling him in even tighter. The kiss deepened further, and he could feel Edward pressing in with a fervent need that spiked his heart rate in apprehension and pushed a low moan from his throat. He hadn't realized just how bad he'd wanted this- how much he'd needed to feel Edward against him, and how much more he wanted now that he wasn't trapped in some chaste denial.

Then, all at once, it was over.

Cool, unscented air brushed lightly across Harry's bruised, needing lips, and he instantly recognized that it was from the fan, and not Edward's soft breath. He struggled to open his eyes, to drag himself away from that edge he had suddenly been pushed so close to.

* * *

Those heavy lids slowly dragged themselves upward, and Edward felt his breath catch as if they were the curtains of a stage, finally revealing a long awaited act.

The monster had been sated temporarily, and as it pulled back it left Edward more his uncertain self, all measure of confidence in his actions abruptly gone.

Fear needled at every one of the vampire's aching insecurities, his doubts and pains. Did Harry even care about him like that? What if he had overstepped some delicate line, some stoplight telling him to wait just a few days more, but that he had disregarded and blown through at top speed? He couldn't hear his thoughts, but he felt sure those eyes would tell him everything he needed to know.

And that idea terrified him more than anything else ever had.

Emerald irises slowly became visible to the vampire, glazed and unfocused, but still glittering in the dim lighting of the living room. He didn't have to be Jasper to see the emotions spinning amidst the green.

Want. Interest. Passion. Need.

Questioning?

"W-Why did you… stop?" Harry breathed out, sounding at a loss of air. His lips were deliciously red from the pressure of their kiss, and the slightest of pink tinges was coloring his cheeks.

_GOD,_ did Edward want him.

With a shaky breath he closed his eyes for a moment, trying to reclaim control of his body. But something dark and animalistic was pressing at the edges of his consciousness, grinding and seething at his ability to hold it in. The monster inside him had had a taste of its other half.

Now it decided it would have _all_ of him.

"God, Harry, I want you so bad…" He whispered lightly against his blushed cheek, hoping his urgency could be understood.

The hand in his hair pulled lightly, forcing him to again make eye contact with the warm green blazing in front of him. There was a new confidence in those irises, one that seemed to have shifted from Edward to him.

"I want you, too- so why stop?"

The beast inside kicked forcefully, biting at him.

_Harry's not even resisting anymore- __**take**__ him!_

Edward shuddered as he tried to answer, squeezing his eyes shut.

"You- you don't know what we're getting into by doing this. It isn't safe to go this fast." There was so much more he wanted to say- so much to add onto that. _I won't take you until you know everything, and I'm afraid I'll lose you if you ever learn it all. I'm selfish enough to drag this out, to keep you in the dark so that I can have you just that little bit longer, so we have to go slow._ He knew there was no way to articulate those thoughts, so he left it at that, praying it would be enough.

Harry was silent a moment before he lightly took his hand from Edward's hair, instead moving it to softly stroke the vampire's arm.

"If you need to take it slow, then I'm okay with that." He laughed lightly, and it caused Edward to look up, his skin tingling for it. "God knows _I_ stalled this, too. You deserve the same patience.

Harry tried to put a confidence in his words, despite how much he now ached for Edward. He noted with irony that their roles had almost reversed- now it was Edward who was backing away. But now that he had had a taste, Harry had no intention of letting go completely. He just wished he would've known what he'd been missing.

* * *

Edward had no idea how long he would be able to hold himself away, but he was determined to, for Harry's sake. They would touch- kiss, too- but at least for a while that could be all they did.

Harry's hand again threaded into his hair, running through it lightly. And _fuck_ if it didn't feel _amazing_ having his mate finally touching him. He bit his lip as something akin to a purr slipped softly past his lips.

Edward just prayed the monster inside him would lay low long enough for him to keep Harry safe.

* * *

**Again, incredibly sorry for making you guys wait this long. I hope at least some part of it was worth it for you all, though. I promise I'll try to get them out faster now; I'm getting back into the feel of school, and writing's coming easier again, thank god. I also apologize for the length, but chapter titles are again a factor, plus this scene was a little odd to wrap up.**

**Oh, and I realized after writing this that it kinda seemed like Harry hears voices, lol. That isn't really how I meant for that to come off. I'd like to think my version of Harry's not psychotic. But I digress.**

**Reviews are always great, and I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I can. Three day weekend should help.**

**P.S., I just wanted to give a big thanks to harrytwifan. I'd had a few chunks of this chapter written for a while now, but school ended up giving me a bad case of writer's block. Your kind words more than anything else helped kick me out of that and got this written. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. **


	9. Animal

**... Hi?**

**So I kind of feel like I'm going to be publicly slaughtered for revealing that, no, I was not actually dead, nor did anything incredible happen in my life to explain my absurdly long absence, and you all would be completely right in killing me for that. I really can't apologize enough, only say that I feel terrible and that I'm an awful person and will do better next time, I swear. The amount of time I left you all waiting is completely unacceptable. That being said, and having hopefully stalled my impending execution at least long enough for you all to read the chapter below this small supplication (longest chapter yet- does that help? Probably not, but I figured I'd try…), I can only hope that you'll at least like some of what I made you wait **_**way**_** too long for.**

**Again, I'm **_**so**_** sorry, and your reviews and faves despite my extended absence are more than I probably deserve. Hope you like it!**

* * *

"_**Animal"**_

* * *

"Edward?"

No response.

"Eeeeeeddward?""

Still nothing.

_**SLAM!**_

The telepathic vampire's eyes finally (and abruptly) flashed back to a measurable level of awareness as they focused in on the large hand now resting on the hood of his Volvo. It took his sluggish mind another few seconds to realize that that hand was connected to an arm, which in turn was connected to Emmett.

"What?" Edward noticed idly that his voice sounded almost hoarse when he spoke, as if his throat wasn't used to the action. But his attention was quickly dragged to the beaming, excited form of Alice all but jumping up and down behind Emmett, who withdrew his hand to give her room to leap closer to Edward's rolled down window.

"You've been staring forward at nothing for almost three minutes now!" Her words were spoken with a hurried excitement, but the fashion in which she cut off her sentence practically screamed that she had much more she wanted to say but was holding back with all the patience of a gnat.

Edward laughed lightly, a hand trailing up into his hair. "Yeah, I guess I have." He had driven back to the Cullen home after leaving Harry's (who, unlike Edward, required at least a modicum of sleep), but after parking in the driveway had sat there, not even realizing as whole minutes slipped by.

All at once, Alice burst.

"I saw _everything_, Edward! And it was _so_ cute! The way he blushed, and the way you held him, and just… _oh! _It was just _too_ adorable. I'm _so_ glad you two finally kissed, I mean, yes, it's only been like a week since you two met, but you're _mates_, so it _had_ to happen, and I'm just _so_ happy that you're _together_ now…"

The tiny vampire was gushing and smiling and gesturing so much that Edward was afraid she might hurt herself. Then he noticed Emmett standing behind her, miming all of her excited motions and expressions. The sight of them on someone that large made them that much more ridiculous and hilarious, and Edward found himself laughing uncontrollably for the first time in almost longer than he could remember.

He only calmed after he noticed that Alice had stopped her frantic babblings, causing him to look up. The looks of surprise on both Alice and Emmett's faces quickly caught his attention.

"What?"

Alice's smile reappeared, tugging at her lips.

"I haven't seen you laugh like that in… well, I don't even _know_ how long."

Edward's smile persisted, widening marginally as he realized the truth of her words.

"I guess I can't help myself… I _feel_ better than I have in ages." He stepped out of the car and closed the door, heading up into the house feeling that much better about the coming day for it.

* * *

Harry dragged in a staccato breath of the frigid air, trying harder than he ever had to hold the tears at bay.

He was running.

Running faster than he ever had before. Simultaneously running to and away. It hurt- something did… what was it?

Lungs burning. Legs weakening.

Of course.

He had to keep his thoughts on this. His body. Then he didn't have to think about it- didn't have to the think about what he was leaving behind, or what he was approaching.

Not approaching fast enough.

A quick jump got him over the rock that had been in front of him, but the pain the impact sent up his legs threatened to sent him crashing to earth. He refused to acknowledge the burn, instead focusing on the roaring in his ears, the feeling of blood running scathingly hot through his veins.

There wasn't time for pain, just motion.

Potential being transferred to kinetic at a rate that couldn't be sustained by the limited source of the energy.

Harry didn't have long.

All at once he stumbled, smashed through the door to the house. How he had gotten there he wasn't entirely sure- the home was miles and miles from the school…

His thoughts plunged into black as he saw what he had known was coming.

_I just wanted to-" Sniffle. "To say I'm sorry. F-for everything."_

The two others parts of his divided soul were laying there in front of him, motionless.

* * *

Something dark was moving in the tree-line- moving _fast._ Only basic features could be made out in the blur, but it was obviously male, and obviously a vampire if the scarlet eyes were anything to go by.

Long, graceful limbs moved in a rhythm that was all his own. Exertion pulled his clothing taut, making obvious the sharp lines of trim muscular expanses of alabaster skin.

Crimson irises remained locked forward, a predatory gleam of hunger and determination seething in their intensity.

Whoever he was, he was after something. And he was going to get it.

* * *

Overtaxed eyes abruptly opened their floodgates, and waterfalls of silent tears began to carve their slow paths down the blood and dirt stained planes of his cheeks.

_No._

He had known it was coming, but that hardly helped. The raw emotions, so long repressed as he ran, now came rushing back, all the stronger for their forced absence.

It was an ache so black and pure and _wrong_ that he couldn't feel himself anymore. Numb legs crumbled, and Harry's knees hit the floor with a solid crack.

Directly in front of him, emerald eyes blurred by tears honed in on entwined hands, eternally locked together. In that final, defining moment, they had at least had each other. He silently thanked whatever power had allowed that small respite.

But who did that leave him with?

He let out a sob.

As much as he loved Ron and Hermione, he couldn't find it in his heart to pity them. The dead feel nothing- not the pain and the grief and the torment he knew would never truly release him. And wherever they were, he knew that, for everything else, they were together. It was the living, the hollow ones left behind that suffered when death came to claim the newest members of her collection.

In a single instant that made the black flare darker, he let slip the single thought he had always tried to avoid.

Would anyone be there with him when his darkness finally came?

* * *

The vampire finally slid to a stop before jumping straight up, climbing to the top of the nearby tree with absurd speed and grace.

He looked down from his new vantage point, his eyes settling in on a small collection of lights that was obviously Forks. He took in a deep breath, his eyes slipping closed as he did so. When they opened again, they seemed to have honed in on a target, and a hazy mist immediately clouded over his eyes.

A smirk pulled at the edges of his lips, twisting his face into a look of menacing fascination…

* * *

There was a cruelty in the method of Avada Kedavra, Harry now realized. A gun shot or a knife wound left clear marks, obvious signs that the victim had sustained too much damage to continue living. But that acid green curse was the most meticulous of thieves, claiming the life of its target without leaving so much as a scratch. The lifeless shells before him might have been merely sleeping, if not for the unnatural chill of their skin, or the blank expression plastered over their still-open eyes. It made it that much harder to believe that he had lost two of the few things he had ever truly cared for in this world.

A soft sound was hitting his ears, but Harry paid it no mind. He slid forward on his hands and knees, arms shaking and lips quivering, trying to get closer to his misery.

A gentle, tinkling voice some part of his sluggish mind recognized slowly rose up through the silence, finally piercing his thoughts enough to look up.

At the top of the stairs to the second floor of the house, framed by the light seeping down, was Luna. Blond hair caught the light so that it seemed to glow as she slowly descended, one step at a time.

"_I'll never talk again, oh boy you've left me speechless… you've left me speechless, so speechless…"_

Invisible instruments seemed to back up Luna's words, a soft tune somehow accompanying her as she drew closer, a single hand slowly sliding down the banister.

"_And I'll never love again, oh friend you've left me speechless… you've left me speechless, so speechless…"_

Harry's eyes widened as he watched her step down in front of him. Then he followed her gaze.

Ron and Hermione's hands now lay on top of his.

Something in his chest dropped away as he desperately looked up to see-

_Ding Dong!_

_**BOOM!**_

Every particle of air in the house seemed to detonate at the same exact moment, and with a feeling as if flying backward, Harry crashed landed back into his body.

His body in his bed, in his room, in his house, in Forks, Washington.

… _Dream…_

"_Fuck…"_ he growled out, clutching his eyes to block out the bright light streaming in through his window.

He knew he should have realized it was a dream- in real life, he had never seen Ron and Hermione's bodies in the house- it had been miles away, after all. It wasn't until afterwards, when they were brought to Hogwarts. And Luna, singing with instrumental backup… but in dreams, the most absurd can be acceptable.

_Ding Dong!_

Harry suddenly realized just what it was that had woken him up.

_Shit- doorbell._

He hurriedly grabbed a shirt thrown on the nearby chair and headed downstairs, trying to ignore the persistent feelings his dream had left in him.

* * *

Alice's eyes flew back open with an intake of breath.

A new vampire? Here, in Forks?

The prospects that that kind of vision offered for the future were concerning ones; if she was right- if that was a vampire- then she wasn't sure how this was going to play out.

With Edward and Harry so involved with themselves at the moment, they might not be as careful as was normally essential whenever rogue vampires were added to the mix.

First things first, then- tell Edward.

The small vampire raced up the stairs and threw open her brother's door-

Only to find the room empty.

* * *

Edward fidgeted impatiently, rubbing his arm repeatedly. Biting down on his lip, he considered pressing the doorbell again, then thought better of it. Harry was probably just asleep.

He glanced at his watch- but it was _noon!_ He really should have woken up by _now_. Maybe he should press it just one more time…

Edward reached forward, faltered, pulled back again with a sigh. His leg bounced anxiously. He chanced a glance at the window to his right, but with the curtains drawn he couldn't see anything inside. A wayward hand curled into a fist to keep from reaching forward again.

_Shit._

Finally conceding, Edward threw his hand forward, impacting on the doorbell just as the door swung open.

_Ding Dong!_

The unnecessary breath caught in the vampire's throat at the sight in front of him.

"Sorry about taking so long." The muffled voice of his mate drifted out from behind the shirt currently bundled over his head. He seemed to have been in the process of pulling it on when he opened the door, as it was now remaining stubbornly caught on top of his shoulders, his head unable to find the proper opening. But it was what was just _below_ the shirt that had stolen Edward's air.

A crisscross myriad of thin scars formed a crosshatch over the surface of Harry's otherwise flawless, tight chest and extended down to a lesser extent over his abdomen. He couldn't tell if they were older or more recent, but in an instant the monster in him had seethed its way to the surface, detonating like some grenade in his chest.

_Someone hurt my Harry._

_I'll __**destroy**__ them._

All at once Harry found the hole and dragged the shirt down over himself, blocking Edward's view. The monster stumbled backwards, weakened by the disappearance. Without its rage-strengthened assurance, Edward felt as if a rug had just been ripped out from under him. The flow of adrenaline had stopped, now leaving only its side-effects without its strengths- his breathing was shallow and quick, taut muscles begging to be used were now shaking, and his pupils had dilated to the point where there was barely any amber left.

Harry ran a hand through his hair to bring some semblance of order to it after the shirt had disturbed it. He cocked his eyebrow as he noticed Edward's odd demeanor. "Are you ok?"

The vampire struggled to normalize himself, determined not to show his weakness at such an inopportune time. He blinked forcefully and allowed a shiver to rock his body, loosening some of the tightness. A smile crossed his lips.

"Just caught a chill." He redirected the conversation. "How are you?" He prayed the new topic would divert Harry away, keep him from asking questions, making assumptions.

It seemed to succeed. After a momentary pause of incredulity, Harry answered in turn. "I'm good." Another pause stretched awkwardly, during which Harry tried to think of something else to say. All that came out was "… Just woke up."

Not exactly his most impressive line, but his mind was blanking on rational thought again, like it so often did when around Edward.

The other boy didn't seem to mind much, however; instead, unfazed, he eagerly let loose with what he had been waiting to ask.

"I've already eaten- you've seen how Esme can be- but I'd like to take you to lunch." He glanced at his watch. "It's just about time, though I guess it would be breakfast for you." He added with a smirk.

_God_ did that smirk look good…

Without even thinking, Harry easily replied with a "Sure," moving to step towards the door.

Faster than his eyes could process, Edward was at his side, holding it open for him. The other boy's eyes widened slightly, seemingly surprised by his own initiative and willingness to show a facet of his supernatural nature.

Though this relationship was odd in that both parties _knew_ the other wasn't human but neither would say so, Harry felt an obligation to keep Edward from worrying over it. He offered the most sincere smile he could as he stepped through the door, finding it far easier to do so than it had been previously.

Before he could even turn to wait for Edward, the vampire had stepped outside, closed the door, and was now standing in front of him, obviously trying hard to contain his excitement. Harry found himself laughing lightly at his eagerness, evoking a still larger smile from Edward.

The wizard climbed into the front seat of Edward's car, wondering idly just what he had planned for lunch.

* * *

Alice glanced up at Carlisle in frustration.

"He turned his phone off, and all I know is he's somewhere with Harry!"

The blond vampire smiled softly. "Edward is many things, Alice, but he's not foolish. He can take care of himself, and there is no way he would let harm come to Harry."

Alice's frown remained. "He would be a lot safer if he at least _knew_ that there was some possibility of danger."

Carlisle laughed softly. "Be careful, Alice- paranoia over danger is a quality more fitting for Rosalie than yourself." At her continued look of frustration, he softened his tone and took her hand, deciding on a different tact. "Your vision of this new vampire was at night. Unless something changes- and if it does, we can reassess the situation- Edward should be fine to have a day alone with Harry, _without_ distracting phone calls. We can discuss the vampire tonight as a family."

Alice held his gaze for a while longer before she sighed. "Alright." She looked back up, more determined now. "But if I get any other kind of vision, we'll go find them?"

Carlisle nodded. "Yes. And we'll be careful, like always." He laughed lightly. "Besides, who's to say this vampire will be so bad, anyway? Not everyone is evil, Alice."

The prophetic vampire sank back into her seat, putting a hand to her head. "Oh god- I really _am_ starting to sound like Rosalie, aren't I?"

A voice drifted in from the other side of the house, inciting laughter in both of them.

"_I_ _heard_ _that!_"

* * *

Edward smiled over at Harry. "Will this be okay? It's about the only place here in town to go." He shrugged. "One of the problems of living in such a small town."

Harry surveyed the diner. Small, but friendly looking enough. Besides, he really didn't care _where_ he was so long as it meant he could be with Edward. He shot him a grin.

"Looks great. And I'm starved, so just about anything would _taste_ great at this point…"

Edward laughed in reply, and they stepped out of the car and headed towards the small restaurant together, trading small talk as they went.

* * *

Alice's brow furrowed as she squeezed her eyes shut. It was normal to not be able to get a vision of Harry, but she was trying anyway. Unfortunately, the only thing she was getting was the sound of Dead Space 2 filtering through her thoughts as Emmett and Jasper waged war on a legion of undead creatures from the comfort of the living room seats near hers.

Edward's image was equally unclear, which, again, though it made sense since he was with Harry, was nonetheless a source of anxiety.

On a hunch, she tried to see the future of the new vampire that would soon be in town, but the image she was getting was a faded one. Her head tilted as she tried to ignore the sound of Plasma Cutter blasting the limbs off its victim, but the scene of the vampire running simply replayed, though this time the stretch of forest seemed slightly different- more reminiscent of that which was nearer the actual town. Then the image snapped out completely.

Was he close to Harry and Edward? Was she just losing her power? She tested it on Jasper, and saw that a swarm of necrotic, disturbingly child-like things were going to kill him in game in the next five minutes, so that obviously wasn't the case. The small vampire fidgeted, debated telling Carlisle.

_He'll probably just tell me I'm panicking. And he's right- Edward's a big boy, he can take care of himself. Maybe I __**am**__ being too much like Rosalie._

Alice settled back down into her seat, deciding to instead immerse her nervous thoughts in the sights and sounds of intergalactic undead warfare for a few hours and leave the worries of the true "living dead" for a later time.

* * *

Laughter burst from Harry, bubbling up and pouring out in a way that made Edward's entire world flare with more vivid colors. The black of his mate's hair shone brilliantly like the feathers of a preened raven; the greens of his eyes were entire fields of spring grass just waiting to be rolled in- even the pale, chipping blue of the diner's walls glowed brilliantly in the warmth of Harry's light.

The wizard's grin stayed strong as he shook his head. "You realize we've been sitting here for-" He glanced at his watch. "Oh my god- _four_ hours? I'm surprised they haven't thrown us out!"

Edward grinned back at him. "I'm sure they've just forgotten about us by now. Though it's practically time for us to order dinner, seeing as it's almost quarter to five."

Harry laughed again, softer this time, but no less brilliantly. He chanced a glance out the window. "With this storm the way it is, it seems even later though. Practically like night out there."

The thought of nighttime sparked all kinds of images in Edward's vivid mind that probably weren't exactly opportune right now- images of a certain wizard who just happened to be sitting right across from him.

In the momentary silence brought on by Harry reaching for his drink, Edward let curiosity take over again. He knew that Harry was aware of his efforts whenever he tried, but he pushed lightly against his mind anyway, the gold in his eyes shimmering as he did.

Harry glanced up slightly. His brow furrowed in confusion for a second before a smirk curled at the edge of his lips. With a raise of his eyebrow he set the glass down, leaned back, and let the Occlumency shields fade.

Edward's eyes slipped closed for a second as he plunged into Harry's lush thoughts.

_Telepathy's a pretty personal thing, Edward. Are you sure you want to hear all my thoughts?_ He posited playfully.

The vampire smirked.

_Well, I can hardly blame you- I wanted to hear yours too. Remember that? In my car? I tried to get in your head, but all you'd give me was Lady Gaga lyrics. A bit of a downer, really. _Harry grinned. _But in your situation, I would have probably done the same. Like I said, thoughts are pretty personal… _His eyes twinkled deviously. _But you know what's even __**scarier**__ to think of someone knowing?_

Edward raised an eyebrow, and Harry's smile widened in reply.

_If they could see the kinds of things I __**picture**__ in my mind… the images and scenarios that are supposed to be just for my viewing._ A translucent scene of Harry grabbing Edward's hand and leading him outside and towards the back of the diner began to materialize in Edward's own thoughts as the wizard projected his fantasized images into the vampire's mind. It grew still more solid, Harry now turning to face him as they reached their destination away from the public eye. _It's a crazy thought, right? Something you could practically get lost in._

The image snapped away as Occlumency shields flew back into place, and with a glance to the left, Edward realized Harry was standing beside him, his hand outstretched, a small smile on his face.

Without thinking, Edward took it, and allowed himself to be lead to the front door. They stepped out into the humid air with a ding from the bell over the diner's entrance, and Harry gave him a slight tug towards the side of the building, mirroring the image that had overtaken his mind just moments before.

Anxiety suddenly punched into Edward's stomach, a feeling that this was _wrong_, that it shouldn't be happening like this, not when they hadn't told each other the parts of themselves that would probably rip this apart, and he couldn't help but give voice to his concern.

"I- Harry, there's," he pulled him to a stop, "there's something I should tell you."

The wizard bit his lip, turning back slowly to face him. "I know." He sighed, shook his head. "I know, and you're right, and there's something I should tell you too, but-" he looked up at him urgently, determinedly, those green fields looking more painfully inviting than they ever had. "But for now- for this second, at least- let's just let it lie;" Harry's voice was growing stronger, more assured, and Edward felt him pressing against his mind again. "Let's pretend that we're normal, and there're no secrets, and it's just us, and this moment, and every-" A painfully high-definition close-up image of Harry's hand squeezing his thigh suddenly exploded in Edward's thoughts. "Thing-" Another flash, this time of their bodies grinding against one another, their groins in particular focus- "We've ever-" Harry moaning breathlessly against Edward's neck as he held him close. "Wanted…." A final scene alighted in the vampire's already strained mind, this time of two tongues fighting for dominance in one of their mouths, teeth and lips dancing with each other in a similar fashion at the same time. "… To do…"

The monster roared triumphantly deep inside Edward, and with a gasping breath he finally conceded to his desires.

Harry's warm hand seemed small in Edward's cold one, but it was like a sun spot in the vampire's senses, seething hot in the best way possible and flaring his instincts red. He nearly stumbled in his attempts to follow Harry in his haze, but finally stepped around the corner to the back of the diner.

The completion of his turn was met with a white hot explosion of force as Harry simultaneously slammed him against the back wall and assaulted his cold lips with his own violently heated ones. Caught off guard, Edward slipped down the wall slightly, bringing himself level with Harry. The wizard's moan- or was it a growl?- of agreement proved his appreciation of the new development as he gripped the vampire's hair tightly, forcing himself on him that much more strongly.

Edward's lips parted, and the inferno that poured into his mouth because of it finally truly caused the monster deep inside to awaken from its slumber. Higher thought disintegrated as it clawed its way into control of the vehicle known as his body.

_Heat_. _Good. Want. Need. More. Now__**.**_

_**Mine.**_

With a growl that rumbled up from his core, Edward pushed himself back up the wall firmly before spinning himself and Harry around at lightning speed. The small wizard's back collided with the wall heavily, but his silent muffliato charm left the patrons none the wiser. A groan of what seemed to be relief burst from Harry's lips as Edward again seized them with his own, pushing with just enough strength to make it resolute without pain.

* * *

Harry may as well have surrendered to a monster inside himself as well, considering how mindlessly he was acting. But in this heated battle of passion, what little cognizant thought could be formed he was more than willing to ignore. He gripped the collar of Edward's shirt and pulled downward with adrenaline-strength, ripping it in half down to his abdomen.

* * *

Harry's hands collided with Edward's chest with searing ferocity. The alabaster flesh that had so long been frigid in its neglect was suddenly burning up under the wizard's touch, causing a low purr to spill from Edward's mouth and resound against Harry's bruised lips.

The vampire found himself completely unable to recall anything- all of Edward's timidity seemed to be some dream from the past, something that couldn't be real. The only thing left was the here, the now, and just how amazing his mate felt and tasted. From the resultant haze came his decision to pull back from Harry's lips for a moment, just long enough to grip him gently but firmly by the back of the neck and direct him down to his chest.

Harry didn't disappoint.

Without a moment's hesitation, a tongue that burned with the same heat as every other part of the wizard pressed against Edward's collarbone, sweeping across it from the shoulder down to the base of his neck. Soft lips came together there, offering a whisper of a kiss on the steel skin there before blowing ever so lightly. A chill that some dim part of Edward realized he probably shouldn't be able to feel rocked his body, but for all he knew it had nothing to do with the cool breath. The trail of soft kisses slid tantalizingly slow as they dipped lower to the area between his pectorals. Edward let his head loll backwards. He hissed out a scarcely contained breath before it melted into a purr nearly as warm as the mouth lavishing his skin. The vampire gripped his mate tighter as the monster he had become began to slip into a darkness of sinful luxe.

* * *

Twin eyes stared outward from the tree line, honing in on the scene with meticulous interest. They tilted to the side as if intrigued while the restaurant's dim lighting reflected in them menacingly.

* * *

_What. Are you. __**Doing**__?_

Harry continued his machinations, letting the small voice in the back of his head fall by the wayside.

_What I __**want**__. For once._

Yes- yes, that option sounded much better. He let his teeth scrape teasingly, almost imperceptibly, across Edward's skin, barely even touching it. A sharp growl rewarded his efforts, followed by a swelling of Edward's chest so that it forced him into more solid contact.

A smirk crossed Harry's lips as he realized he was finally pushing Edward's nerves to the breaking points the vampire had so recently pressed his own.

_So that's it then- you want the first time you two had sex to have happened behind some __**diner?**_

These voices of reason in his head were getting _really_ annoying. Harry's smile spread deviously wider- time to shut them up once and for all.

_It's not __**sex**__- just some fun._

The wizard reached his hands in the remnants of Edward's shirt, gripping his hips firmly before throwing his head forward and dragging his tongue resolutely over the vampire's nipple. Before Edward could then finish his shuddered breath, Harry swirled once before biting down teasingly, though firmly.

Something akin to a roar tore from the other boy's throat before Harry felt himself thrown sharply against the building's wall. Edward's face was now disarmingly close to his own, panting, even as one of his legs pressed firmly between Harry's, bringing their lower bodies into complete contact. The steel reminder of just what Harry was doing to him pushed all but painfully hard into the wizard's thigh.

_Tell __**him**__ that._

… Oh _shit._

If Harry's voice of reason had arms, he was sure they would have been crossed smugly at this turn of events. As it was, suddenly the only thing Harry could think of anymore were the words he himself had intoned just the day before.

_Notsafe, notsafe, notsafe, notsafe, notsafe, notsafe, notsafe…_

Quaking blacked-out amber eyes heaved with every breath of the taut body in front of him. The feelings he had so easily ignored before- the fear at Edward's contained strength, the anxiety at the thought of pushing the boundaries of this relationship- were all at once igniting in the forefront of his thoughts, refusing to back down. The situation had become all at once far too real. The wizard's hands shook in their attempts to continue holding onto Edward's shoulders, his blood became a dull roar in his ears, and darkness began to tunnel his vision until all he could see was the object of his simultaneous and paradoxical passion and fear.

"E-Edward?" His voice came out as little more than a whisper.

Fluxing golden torrents became slightly more obvious as the black shrunk, but there was no verbal reply. He instead just pushed in closer, his eyebrow rising almost imperceptibly. Harry took that as his invitation to speak.

"I-" He swallowed heavily, trying to firmly ignore the alluring scent swirling around them. "I… I think…"

Edward growled lowly in what Harry prayed was a warning, not a threat. The vampire then rushed forward again with his inhuman speed, pressing their lips together once more.

Harry's mind became an explosion of shattered images- black satin, ice, red velvet. Chocolate and gold and snow and silver and white and _hot_ and _luscious_ and _**dangerous**_…

_Not. Safe!_

His thoughts buzzed painfully with the overload, seething like a bottle being shaken far too hard. Pressure built somewhere behind the wizard's eyes; his brain was surely about to blow like a grenade, and if the heat between his legs was anything to go by, his pants were about to ignite, too. The tips of his fingers sizzled and ached with pent up magic.

With no air and even less chance of forming coherent thought, Harry did the only thing he could, given the situation. He silently prayed it would be enough as he released his magic out onto Edward, baring open the vampire's mind.

Eyes closed, Harry threw his consciousness full onto into the cyclone of Edward's thoughts.

* * *

A bullet train of light exploded into being in the front of Edward's mind. It flared warm, lush green, reminding him of the other times Harry had tried to gain access to his mind. Far too involved in the physical sensations rocking his body, the vampire let his mate slip in without resistance, watching only passingly as Harry derailed and smashed against the solid black of the monster inside.

* * *

_Edward, we have to slow down._

Something black and feverish swirled around Harry violently, making manic rounds in the vampire's churning thoughts. It pulled in tighter, wrapping around him more forcefully. Harry almost pulled back behind his Occlumency shields again in fear, but he steeled what was left of his resolution before he lost himself to the darkness, however inviting it may have been.

Scraps of words were pushing through the black, pieces of what Harry recognized as the Edward he normally dealt with. The one Harry kept forcing to surrender to this primal _thing_ in him. He spoke as directly as he could to the sparking amber amid the black that he was sure must be the more conscious-Edward.

_Edward, please? Can you hear me?_

In the physical world the lips roaming over his faltered slightly, and the amber spark became a flame curling its way around him.

_I thought… it's what you wanted… that __**I'm**__ what you wanted…_

The voice was an odd hybrid of Edward's normal controlled, if unsure speech and the strong, passionate shift that had occurred the previous night. The combination made replying even harder than it already was with his mind about to explode and his body crumbling under Edward's touch.

_You are, but… I… It's…_

His inability to come to a conclusion fueled the monster, pushed the cyclone to further heights. The amber began to fade again, and Harry felt his legs give out, falling completely into Edward's grasp.

With nothing left to fight with, Harry's Occlumency shields collapsed, his mind too overtaxed. The single, final thought they had held at bay slipped free and was immediately dragged to the center of the hurricane.

… _I'm scared._

* * *

Everything abruptly froze- the swirling jerked to a halt, Edward's lips ceased their motions, and his hands stopped moving on Harry's body.

_Harry is scared._

_It's __**my**__ fault._

Like a drowning man shooting to the surface, Edward slammed full force back into his body with a gasp. As if realizing this would require a gentler touch, his more animalistic nature faded into the back, again offering full control to its more considerate counterpart.

Edward pulled back, at the same time letting Harry trickle from his mind. Concerned eyes lanced over his mate's face, searching for recognition.

"Harry? Harry, are you ok?"

The realization that he had nearly lost himself to the monster inside was a terrifying one, but what was still more frightening was the idea that Harry had nearly given himself up to it as well. Edward _himself_ was scared of his mind sometimes when he let the beast within take over- that Harry was willing to dive straight into its den like that was alarming, but it spoke volumes for his mate's courage.

Harry's eyes suddenly flew fully open and Edward felt him launch out of his mind completely, the Occlumency walls coming up again. The wizard seemed to immediately regret that decision however, as his head snapped back with the force of it and his eyes snapped shut again in apparent pain and dizziness.

"My fault…" He heard the wizard mutter before he went limp in his arms, unconscious.

Edward supported Harry's weight with one hand even as the other gripped his own hair painfully.

_What the hell just __**happened**__?_

Not knowing what else to do, Edward gathered his mate up in his arms and raced back into the car, depositing him lightly in the passenger seat before getting into the driver's.

From the treeline behind the diner, the twin eyes followed his movements curiously, flaring in the dark.

* * *

Harry's eyes fluttered back open, the sound of a motor and the blowing of air-conditioning greeting his newly aware ears. He glanced right, then left, and the sight a panicked-looking Edward brought the memories of a few minutes before punching back into the forefront of his thoughts.

The slight difference in his inhale caused Edward to glance over, nearly sending them off the road with the speed and intensity at which he did.

"Are you alright Harry? I can't believe I did that- almost lost control, I mean. You had me so worried when you passed out like that, I'm still not really sure what happened, but whatever I did I can't even tell you how sorry I am, and believe me, I'll completely understand if you don't want to-"

Harry had a suspicion that that sentence was about to end with "see me again.", and since he had no intention of letting that happen, he cut off Edward's breakneck-speed rant to assert his opinion.

"Edward, Edward- just breathe. Calm down." He paused to make sure he did just that, however marginally, before continuing. "I'm fine, and it's not your fault. I just got… caught up, that's all." He bit his lip. "Kind of panicked."

Edward shook his head forcefully. "I shouldn't have let that happen- I should've been stronger. I can't lose control like that, I might hurt you, and then-"

Harry gripped his arm, partially to emotionally steady him, but also to keep Edward's jerking movements under control so they didn't fly into oncoming traffic.

"Edward, _stop._ I'm fine, you're fine. That's proof that you didn't lose control. I'm just not use to something that… intense, is all."

The vampire bit his lip, gripping the steering wheel harder. Harry knew he wasn't convinced, and found himself wishing for just some small part of the self-assurance that went with Edward when he was being passionate.

"Edward, promise me something."

He immediately glanced over, a world of fears and possibilities swimming in those amber pools.

"What?"

"_Promise_ me you won't stay panicked about this, or think this means I don't want to be with you. This was just…" Harry struggled for words- he wasn't used to having to console someone in a way like this, and the vestiges of his unconsciousness still lingered, slowing down his thought process. What he really needed was some sleep- he finished the sentence in the most articulate manner he could muster. "Just something that happened. You deal, and you move on. You don't panic and run away. Can you promise me that?"

* * *

When asked to make Harry a promise, Edward had been tempted to say "Anything," since that was true. He just hadn't expected it to be such a difficult one to follow. It just felt so natural to see this as a clear sign that their relationship was too volatile, and would end up hurting Harry. But here was the very person in most danger and he was refusing to leave, and making Edward promise to do the same. It didn't make sense, but that still couldn't change Edward's answer.

"… I promise."

Harry met his gaze for a while, seeming to search for validity in his words, apparently satisfied, he nodded and turned to again face the front just as they pulled into his driveway.

"Good." He glanced back. "Now call me tomorrow, okay? We'll go hang out, or catch a movie or something."

Edward smiled. Harry still wanted to go places with him… That was a good sign right? He nodded. "Ok. I'll see you later then?"

Harry opened the door and took a step out into the rain-scented air. A slight breeze blew his sable hair across his forehead, and the grin he flashed him could have lit up the dark night around them as he nodded in reply.

"Good night, Edward."

* * *

Harry fumbled with his keys as he tried to shove them into the lock. He found himself secretly thankful that Edward had left quickly- he didn't want to look like he was really so affected by what had happened that he couldn't even open a door.

But how could he _not_ be affected? That was the single most intense encounter he had ever had- and he had never been that turned on, if the blatant truth was going to be told. The only question was how in hell _he _had been the one to initiate _something like that._

_Seriously, what is going on with me? I'm acting like someone who not only has __**experience**__ in relationships, but wants it __**really**__ badly. I mean, honestly, what in hell did I __**expect**__ at that diner, the way I was acting all over Edward? He makes me do things I never would have thought myself capable of._

He finally got the lock to open, and he stepped into his house, heading immediately for his room and warm, waiting bed.

_And the scary part is, I think I like it…_

* * *

Edward finally stepped back into his house, and was almost immediately ambushed by Alice, who abruptly swept him up in a hug only to then slap his arm with enough force to knock over a Mack truck.

"What was _that_ for?" He snapped off angrily, as Jasper and Emmett snickered in the background.

"Since _when_ did turning your phone off all day seem like a good idea?" The tiny vampire was furious, and if he hadn't been already emotionally riled from the day's events, he probably would have had the intelligence to be scared by it.

"It's called privacy, Alice. I realize it's a foreign concept in this house, but sometimes the urge just hits me. Crazy, right?" He was scowling, but he didn't care.

Emmett glanced up at him, grinning widely. "What our sister seems incapable of articulating, Edward, is that there is a new vampire in town, and she was worried about y- _Fuck!_" Emmett slammed at the controller, panicking over some new wave of necro-morphic villains.

"Emmett, language!" Esme's voice called from some area of the house, but Edward ignored it, suddenly too intrigued by his brother's words.

"Wait, what do you mean, a new vampire?" Emmett and Jasper's eyes remained glued to the screen, and Alice was too busy fuming to reply. "Emmett? _What vampi-_" With a growl of frustration, Edward reached down and ripped the plug for the Xbox out of the wall, snapping the screen to black.

"_Hey!"_ Emmett and Jasper called out in unison.

"Vampire- what do you mean?"

Alice rolled her eyes, finally choosing to explain. "I got a vision of a new vampire coming to Forks. _Tonight_. He's probably already here. I _wanted_ to warn you, but no, you were too busy wanting _privacy_ to pick up the phone from someone who can see the _fucking future…_"

Edward was too shocked to speak for a second at both what was said and the strength with which Alice had said it. What came out of his mouth was in no way what he had intended.

"You sound like Rosalie."

Alice immediately threw her face into her hands with a frustrated growl.

"Why does everyone keep _saying _that?"

The aforementioned blond stepped into the room and patted Alice on the back before sitting happily on the couch next to Emmett.

"Consider it a compliment." She raised a brow at the T.V. before waving her hand at it dismissively. "Shouldn't that be doing something?"

Jasper rolled his eyes as he struggled to get the plug back into the wall now that Edward had bent it in his fervor to get it out.

Alice glared at her before directing her gaze back to Edward.

"I'll let Carlisle and them explain- I need to go drink away my frustration at the thought of turning into Rose… I'll probably need something like a bear to deal with something _that_ bad…"

Rosalie rolled her eyes as Alice traipsed out of the house, leaving a very confused Edward in her wake.

* * *

Hurricane winds buffeted Harry, sending his hair into tumultuous motions. His vision blurred repeatedly, fuzzing over on and off again like a radio tuning in on a specific frequency. Without his sight to go by, the wizard could really only characterize this space- whatever it was- through his other senses; the air swirling around him was cold, uncomfortably so, and smelled familiar, but in a way that seemed to be… _off_, somehow. It was like a memory of something he remembered enjoying, but as if some underlying warmth of it was missing, making the scene incomplete. But oddest of all was the sound reverberating in his ears- a dull pounding, rhythmic but untraceable. It was equally familiar, but Harry found himself just as unable to determine why.

All at once the 'tuning' came to a halt as it finally snapped into place. The wizard blinked forcefully, wondering if some spell had influenced his eyes, but no change occurred- instead, an unexplainable compulsion to walk claimed his body, forcing him to step forward in the darkness his vision had finally decided on manifesting.

This entire landscape was colored in shades of black; the 'sky' was the darkest, like a pool of pitch, while the 'ground' was slightly lighter, more like volcanic ash. The delineation at the horizon was all but indiscernible, but as Harry marched resolutely forward he began to see something white forming in the distance, which then became three specific points.

A particularly strong blast of wind pushed his head to the side to help block some of its severity. A moment later when the wizard looked up again, he had come to an abrupt halt, and just out of arm's reach, directly in front of him, the three points of white had formed into a pair of hands and a head that were remarkably familiar.

"… Edward?"

Harry's voice felt disconnected from his body- it carried through the wind encircling him and the other boy, but didn't seem to originate from any specific point. Nonetheless, Edward obviously heard him, as he turned to face him with the downtrodden eyes of someone in the roiling grasp of depression. The gold of his irises had dulled so that it was barely noticeable in the shadows of their surroundings, but they flared dimly at the sight of Harry.

_"He's broken, Harry… And it's your fault…"_

The disembodied voice whispered conspiratorially from the darkness, an unfamiliar and chilling one that instantly sent a shiver down Harry's spine. He moved to reply, but the heart wrenching nod Edward performed in agreement with the words temporarily locked the words in his throat.

He had never seen the boy look so utterly, completely without hope or happiness. Even in the worst of times, there was _something_, some fire behind Edward's eyes that showed that he at least hadn't given up. Now, there was nothing.

_"He's too scared now, Harry- he can't give you what __**I**__ can. Not even close…"_

The wizard's brow furrowed. Who in hell was this voice? And why could he suddenly feel a heavy breathing beginning to hit his neck, drawing closer… still closer…

Some invisible force kept him from turning his head to see anything but Edward as the boy took a single step backwards onto a darkness as black as the sky. A moment afterwards, Harry realized it _was_ the sky- or at least the air, anyway.

Edward had just stepped off a cliff.

That forlorn look still burning in his faded eyes, Edward fell backwards, soundlessly plummeting out of view.

_"_No!_"_

Just as the unseen force at his side contacted his neck with something cold and steely, Harry finally broke free of the invisible forces constricting his movement, lurching forward with a stumble. Another step had him dropping off the solid shadows and into a darkness somehow more complete than any of the others, with Edward nowhere in sight.

All at once the black, now glinting dimly like a satin under candlelight, seemed to rush up at him with incalculable speed. The air-turned-satin-sheets enveloped him in a silent whirl of cloth, tightening painfully over his every extremity. The black stretched across his mouth refused to transmit air, rapidly sending Harry into an adrenaline fueled panic attack as he could no longer inhale. The wizard thrashed desperately, but the motions only seemed to make the satin tighten still more painfully around him.

The scream that tore from Harry's throat somehow got caught up in the threads of the fabric, leaving him alone in a silent shadow that was swiftly growing darker still…

* * *

"Do you think the vampire is a threat?"

Carlisle was forced to shrug from his position at the counter of the kitchen. "We can't really be sure- Alice didn't see much of him expect for when he was running. There's no way to know unless we actually meet him, and given the circumstances, I think we should avoid that."

Edward bit his lip. "I can still meet up with Harry, though, right?"

The rest of the family looked over at Carlisle, likewise intrigued to hear his response. The blond took his time in answering, clearly thinking it through.

"I think that would actually be a good idea- we were able to tell relatively easily that there was something… _different_ about Harry. I imagine he'll be able to do the same. Having you there might throw off his ability to detect that, and in the worst of cases you would be able to defend him. Until this vampire leaves, your mate is probably safest with you by his side."

The rest of the family filtered back to what they were doing, satisfied that the situation had been resolved.

Edward climbed the stairs to his room slowly, his hand dragging along the banister as nagging thoughts plaguing his mind. One in particular shone through the strongest, however:

_If Harry is safest with me, then is he in danger right now?_

* * *

_"There's no one here to save you Harry. You're alone, just like before- just like you'll __**always**__ be…"_

Harry thrashed desperately, ripping and clawing at the shadows with whatever strength remained in him. Bands of steel were tightening around his chest, and the wizard screamed once more at the knowledge that he couldn't have long left. The thrumming beat in the background was reaching manic heights, pounding so loudly he was sure his ears should have been bleeding by now.

_"It's getting a little harder to keep fighting, isn't it Harry? You'll find a lack of air will do that. Just slip into the darkness… it's where you're headed anyway, seeing as you can't breathe…"_

A blossom of red abruptly ignited in the darkness, burning somewhere in his chest like a miniature supernova.

He would never- _never_ give in- not like this. Not to this… _thing_ speaking in his mind.

Lightning lanced through his veins, a crackle of static that pushed his blood into a frothing mania and made his skin ache with the sting of needles forcing their way beneath his flesh.

A shockwave of magical force suddenly exploded like shrapnel from Harry's core, ripping holes through the shadowed satin holding him in place. White hot flak tore into the air around him, shattering its black image. Through the newly formed cracks he could see what he recognized dimly as the four walls and furnishings of his own room, seen from a position on his bed.

_Dream?_

All at once this world detonated into flame, a crumbling palace of smashed glass and torched fabrics, the spaces of reality becoming increasingly obvious.

A frustrated growl roared in Harry's ears painfully loud, but with a gasp, frigid oxygen immediately punched down his throat, causing his lungs to burn with relief as the wizard's emerald eyes truly snapped open.

The threads of the dream world abruptly pulled taut and ripped free from his flesh, a thousand stitches torn from their knots in a millisecond explosion of incalculable agony. A guttural, tortured scream drilled out from his ravaged vocal chords, but his tear-blurred eyes suddenly locked in on the sight from the window to his left. Air froze mid-breath, and the blood rushed from Harry's body as he realized just what he was looking at.

Two blood red irises shone in the moonlight, and beneath them, amid the shadows, perfect white teeth glittered with menace.

In another instant, the image was gone, and Harry was sure that, had there been any contents in his stomach, they would have now been on the floor.

A breath slowly crept down his throat, then another. They shook, but gave him enough oxygen to give his racing mind the strength to form an imperative thought:

_Call Edward. __**Now.**_

Harry scrambled to grab the cellphone sitting on his night stand and flip it open. His hands shook so badly that he dropped it in his attempt to punch in Edward's number and had to start over, but before he could put them all in, a new nagging thought began to overrun the initial adrenaline-driven panic.

…_And say what?_

That he had had a bad dream? That he had been scared by something he saw in his window? The eyes could just as easily have been a part of that crazy nightmare, or any number of the large variety of animals no doubt wandering these forests. Telling Edward would just make him nervous and upset unnecessarily, and wouldn't solve anything.

Harry sighed, biting his lip.

Nightmares happened to everyone. Wizard or not, he wasn't spared from that. That they were coming more often just showed that he was going through a lot right now, what with his newly developing relationship with Edward.

…Right?

Harry leaned back down onto his bed, pulling the covers up a little higher against the whispering shadows.

* * *

**So yes- plot twists. Gasp! Knew they had to come. Now I finally get into the part of the plot I was most excited for the almost 11 months ago I first came up with this story. Hope you all like where it's going too- it's going to get much more involved, and this "new vampire" will be showing his name in the next chapter… **

**Now onto what you all probably care about the most- when I'll update again. I'm really scared to try and put any real date on it, since I'm terrified that I'll end up disappointing you guys. All I can say is that it will be nowhere near as long a wait as this last, horrendous one was, and that this is spring break and I'm too broke to go anywhere, hence how I finally pulled my head out of the sand, faced the messages that were yelling at me to update or die, and pumped out some more story into cyberspace, so I'm sure I'll at least get some more writing on the next chapter done, even if it won't be **_**finished**_** by this week. However, after that, finals will be coming up, and I really have to do well, so we'll see what happens. I'll have to play it by ear. But among other things I stand by my promise I made a while back- that I won't abandon this story, because it's true, it always depresses me when other writers do that.**

**Anyway, hope you liked it, and if you can find it in yourself to review, then I might feel a little less awful, lol. Thanks!**


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